My Little Pony: Equestria Girls: Friendship Games: Alumni Edition
by A Derpy King Boo
Summary: Many years have passed since Sunset Shimmer walked through these halls as a student but now, as an administrator in CHS, when the chance of a lifetime shows itself, Sunset Shimmer must now team up with familiar faces and old classmates to defeat their greatest foes: Crystal Prep Academy.
1. Chapter 1

_**My Little Pony: Equestria Girls: Friendship Games: Alumni Edition**_

* * *

"Great work today, Midnight Dweller. I look forward to seeing you again next Monday."

"Thank you, Mrs. Shimmer." Midnight Dweller replied, hugging the kind, intelligent adult. He turned and started running out the room playfully. "Have a good weekend!"

"You too, Midnight!" The lovely adult responded back.

She watched onward as the hyper boy left her office for his next class. She was content at the moment and remembered when she herself was at that stage where she was eager to learn new and exciting things. Coupled with a few bumps along the road, she'll never forget the path that was taken in order to get here. She brushed back her long, flowing red-and-yellow hair and gazed out the clear windows and into the hallway, smiling brightly. The hallway was filled with hundreds of students, going back and forth, trying to get to their next class on time. This was her off period, so she waited until the hallway was clear before she started moving out into it.

Canterlot High School has remained the same to her, Mrs. Shimmer, since she left eight years ago. She was excited to graduate with her good friends, but often times wondered what they did now. They hadn't really stayed greatly in touch after graduating from college and she wondered what they did now, where they worked, and how they were all doing. She remembered back to when she was a senior in this school and how much of a good time she had with her friends then. Then college came and, slowly but surely, the gap between each of them was starting to form.

She herself went to the local college in the city, driving to and from it every week. As for her friends, most of them stayed locally, except for Ms. Dash, the athletic coordinator for CHS. Ms. Dash went away for college, going to a private, prestigious university on an athletic scholarship. Her playing career was about to take off, but when a tragic event happened to her while she was on the playing field, she never went back to it like she once did. It took a lot out of her - her father passing away and her not being able to get back in time to say goodbye - and she vowed that she'll never go professional if it meant that her friends and family couldn't travel with her.

Mrs. Shimmer was going to meet Ms. Dash in the faculty lounge for their lunch. This was something that they always did together. They always loved eating lunch together and always remembered all the good times they both had with the rest of the gang while walking down the same hallways years before these students did. They remembered events like defeating the sirens together, the Friendship Games, and what brought them all together in the first place.

Mrs. Shimmer entered the faculty lounge and made her way towards the refrigerator and opened it up. Inside the refrigerator was a salad, a strawberry lemonade, a wrapped up sandwich, and some yogurt with a plastic spoon. Mrs. Shimmer took the salad and strawberry lemonade, both of which were hers, and sat down at the table in the middle of the room. Ms. Cheerilee was sitting down at the same table on the opposite end to Mrs. Shimmer and smiled and waved at her. Mrs. Shimmer waved back and politely started a conversation with Ms. Cheerilee, one of her former teachers.

"How's everything going today, Cheerilee?" Mrs. Shimmer asked, taking a sip of her strawberry lemonade.

"It was a rough start," answered Ms. Cheerilee, "but it picked back up after third period."

"What happened this morning?"

"Grading happened, Sunset." Ms. Cheerliee chuckled.

"I see," smiled Mrs. Shimmer.

Ms. Cheerilee rose from her seat and started to head out of the lounge. She told Mrs. Shimmer that she had to get back to the grading and was going to need all the time she could get. Mrs. Shimmer understood and playfully wished Ms. Cheerliee good luck in her grading. After thanking her, Ms. Cheerliee then left the lounge and left Mrs. Shimmer alone, but only for a brief period of time.

Ms. Dash, Mrs. Shimmer's long-time friend, had entered into the lounge and greeted Mrs. Shimmer with a smile and a hug. She then went to the refrigerator and grabbed the wrapped sandwich, which was hers, and sat down next to Mrs. Shimmer. She started to tell her about her day and how she feels that CHS's athletic teams might be a threat this year.

"Are they all that good?" Mrs. Shimmer asked.

"They're better than good, Sunset," Ms. Dash replied, "they're awesome!"

Mrs. Shimmer laughed lightly. "Of course they are, Dash. Hehe."

Ms. Dash smirked in response, then proceeded to change the subject. She switched it to the upcoming Friendship Games against their longtime rivals, Crystal Prep Academy. When Mrs. Shimmer and Ms. Dash last participated in the games, the result was a tie, but in an unconventional way. They both knew what happened - Twilight Sparkle, playing in the games for Crystal Prep, wreaked havoc on the playing field after falling to magic that she released herself - but they wanted to look to having their students beat the prestigious academy students this time around.

Ever since Mrs. Shimmer and Ms. Dash played the games, Crystal Prep's reputation has somewhat taken a hit and started disappearing. Principal Cinch, the principal for Crystal Prep, was seen as an insane lunatic after claiming that Canterlot High School had students with wings, attack plants, and, most of all, a talking dog in the center courtyard and, because of those claims, Crystal Prep was seen as a school where the results weren't as always as they thought, even though they technically were, especially with their Top 12 students.

The Friendship Games were set to begin on Friday and the students around CHS knew very well as well. Students were set up, chanting "Wondercolts, Wondercolts" all around the school, and were getting their school pride up in the process. Mrs. Shimmer and Ms. Dash were excited for the Friendship Games as well and were excited to see what Principal Celestia had to say about the games in the faculty meeting after school today.

Mrs. Shimmer and Ms. Dash talked more about the Friendship Games and remembered some more memories before switching the topic yet again. This time, they talked about memories with their old friends and all that they did as teenagers. They remembered what they did for their graduation, what they did on prom night, and even what they did when they all started college. They remembered the last day they saw Ms. Dash before she left for college away on the other side of the country. It was definitely a tough moment for all seven of them, but it was done only because Ms. Dash chose to do that. After reliving those memories for some time, both Mrs. Shimmer and Ms. Dash sat together in silence for the remainder of the period.

* * *

That afternoon, Mrs. Shimmer made her way toward the faculty lounge for the faculty meeting. The day had concluded for about twenty minutes at this time and most students were gone for the day. The only students that remained on campus were those that were in the band, practicing for the Friendship Games, the athletes, and members of certain clubs that were asked to help prepare the school for the games again. When Mrs. Shimmer arrived at the faculty lounge, she noticed that it was nearly a full room. Only a few teachers and faculty members were missing from the room mainly because either they were helping prepare the school or because they were advisors for the groups they were in now. Mrs. Shimmer noticed that Ms. Dash was absent from the room and assumed that she was out on the field running practice for the archery team.

Principal Celestia called for everyone's attention and got it within a few seconds. She thanked everyone for coming and quickly got down to business: the Friendship Games.

"As you're all well aware of," she began, "the Friendship Games will be taking place this coming Friday here at CHS. Myself as well as Vice Principal Luna are more than excited to welcome our friends once again from Crystal Prep Academy in a day which will breed excellence, devotion, skillful endeavors, unity, and friendship. I know we as a school have yet to win the games against Crystal Prep, but that does not matter. The important part is that we have come close these last couple games and have turned it into an actual competition."

"Precisely," Vice Principal Luna agreed, "and as we draw closer to these games, this time...this time, the scoring will be altered in a slight way."

"Slight how?" asked Mrs. Shimmer.

"I'm glad you asked, Sunset Shimmer." Vice Principal Luna answered.

"The Friendship Games this time around," continued Principal Celestia, "will be a special edition of them."

"Special how?" Ms. Cheerilee asked.

"In accordance with Principal Cinch and Dean Cadance from Crystal Prep Academy," Principal Celestia said, "this year's version of the Friendship Games will be the alumni edition!"

Mrs. Shimmer gasped. "Alumni edition?"

Principal Celestia and Vice Principal Luna both nodded.

"Anyone who is an alumni of CHS is eligible to play," Vice Principal Luna stated.

"However," added Principal Celestia, "because it is of short notice, we shall only allow alumnis that have stayed near the area to participate and the best twelve alumnis solely based on final GPA when graduating."

Mrs. Shimmer was still in shock. She raised her hand like she did when she was back in school and Principal Celestia called on her.

"So, what you're saying is..." Mrs. Shimmer drifted off for a split second before picking back up. "We're going to _play_ in the games again?"

"That's exactly what we're saying, Sunset," smiled Principal Celestia. She turned to the rest of the faculty. "And, if this goes as well as hoped, Principal Cinch and myself have agreed to make a set of games specifically for the alumni of our schools."

"Note that this only happens if these games goes as well as expected," advised Vice Principal Luna, "if they do not, which is not expected, then the next Alumni Friendship Games will be held in two years."

"Do you know who the candidates for the competition are yet?" Mrs. Shimmer eagerly asked.

"They're right here on this paper that I'm holding, Sunset." Principal Celestia said. She rose the paper, then started reading out the names and their final GPA upon graduation. "These are the twelve alumni who have been asked, and accepted, to participate in this Friday's Friendship Games: Sunset Shimmer, with a 99.6 average at graduation, Twilight Sparkle, with a 99.6 average at graduation, Flash Sentry, with a 98.9 average at graduation, Rainbow Dash, with a 98.6 average at graduation, Rarity, with a 98.6 average at graduation, Cheerilee, with a 98.5 average at graduation, Fluttershy, with a 98.4 average at graduation, Applejack, with a 98.1 average at graduation, Lyra Heartstrings, with a 98.0 average at graduation, Big Macintosh, with a 97.6 average at graduation, Sweetie Belle, with a 97.4 average at graduation, and finally, Cranky Doodle, with a 96.7 average at graduation. These twelve alumni have all accepted to playing in the games and will be welcomed back into CHS with open arms. Let us congratulate these prestigious alumnis for all of their hard work and let us also wish them luck in the games."

Principal Celestia started clapping, as did Vice Principal Luna. Eventually, the room was filled with applause and cheers, proud that the all-time best twelve students will represent their school in the coveted Friendship Games. Sunset Shimmer, though, was baffled since she did not get asked to, nor did she accept into participating in these games. When the faculty meeting cleared out, she spoke with Principal Celestia.

"A penny for your thoughts, Sunset Shimmer?" asked Principal Celestia.

"You said you asked and everyone accepted into playing in the games on Friday," she said.

"That is correct."

"But I wasn't asked." Sunset Shimmer alerted.

Principal Celestia rested her hand on Sunset Shimmer's shoulder, smiling softly at her. "I didn't ask you because I knew you would say yes."

"You knew?"

"I did," answered Principal Celestia, "and when we ran through the numbers, picking our best students, when your friends all fell into place, we knew it would make your choice even more solidified. I apologize for not asking you, but I also thank you for participating as well."

"I should be thanking you, Celestia," Sunset Shimmer smiled.

"Why's that?"

"Because you have brought us all back together," Sunset Shimmer replied, "and that's the only thing I've wanted these last couple of years."

"I see..."

"And now, we can finally beat Crystal Prep for real this time," Sunset Shimmer spoke with determination, "and we'll do it together!"


	2. Chapter 2

_**Chapter 2**_

* * *

While all of Canterlot High School was buzzing about the upcoming Friendship Games, the faculty and students over at Crystal Prep Academy was even more excited. The halls were actually buzzing about not just winning in these games, but showing Canterlot High that by even fielding their all-time top twelve alumnis, they will still end up losing, like they usually do.

Principal Cinch set up the twelve best students Crystal Prep has ever seen and lined them all up in her dimly lit office. Her best twelve students were Shining Armor, Sugarcoat, Indigo Zap, Sour Sweet, Lemon Zest, Sunny Flare, Moonlight Sonata, Dean Cadance, Fleur Dis Lee, Royal Pin, Neon Lights, and Lunar Nights. With the alumni all lined up in front of her, Principal Cinch sat down and stared at them all in their eyes. She then started to address them.

"I thank you all for coming here on very short notice," Principal Cinch began, "and I am sure you are all wondering why you've been called here."

"It has something to do with the Friendship Games," Shining Armor said, "doesn't it?"

"Precisely, Shining Armor," answered Principal Cinch, "and the reason behind you all being here is because these "games" will be an all-star edition, so to speak."

"All-star edition?" Sunny Flare asked.

"An all-star edition, Sunny Flare," said Principal Cinch, "and that means that I can field the best twelve students this academy has ever seen...which is where you all come in. Each of you has earned and proven your spot here at this moment. Shining Armor, with the only exception being your younger sister Twilight, whom I hear is participating in the games for Canterlot, you were the best student to ever walk these halls."

"I tried my hardest while attending," Shining Armor stated, "but I'm nowhere near as smart as Twilight is."

"Going down the line," continued Principal Cinch, "Shining Armor graduated Crystal Prep with an average of 99.8. Sugarcoat graduated with a 99.7 average."

"I was upset when I learned that it wasn't a higher grade." Sugarcoat admitted.

"It is still a higher grade than Canterlot High School's best student." Principal Cinch explained. "Indigo Zap, you also graduated Crystal Prep with a 99.7 average."

"Because I tried my hardest and hard work paid off!" Indigo Zap smirked.

"Sour Sweet," continued Principal Cinch, "you graduated with a 99.6 average."

"I was happy when I graduated!" Sour Sweet smiled. She then frowned. "Until I got my average..."

"Lemon Zest, you graduated with a 99.6 average as well."

"Yeah!" Lemon Zest shouted. "Woo hoo!"

"Anyway...Sunny Flare," Principal Cinch continued, clearing her throat, "you graduated with a 99.5 average."

"A very easy feat, honestly," Sunny Flare replied.

"Moonlight Sonata, you graduated with a 99.5 average yourself."

Moonlight Sonata smirked. She was a girl of very few words.

Principal Cinch looked at Dean Cadance next. "You, my dear, also graduated with a 99.5 average." She glanced between her and Shining Armor. "If I can recall, you two fought for the highest average every year while attending Crystal Prep."

Dean Cadance blushed. "I do remember having the upper hand for most of the time too."

Shining Armor chuckled. "Buuut, it was _my_ senior year average which bumped me just a notch over you, Cadance."

"How do you finish a school year with an above-100 average?" Dean Cadance laughed.

"It is very difficult," Principal Cinch said, "but not impossible, although Shining Armor is the _only_ student to do that in the history of Crystal Prep."

"I stand alone in an area that matters most." Shining Armor joked.

Principal Cinch laughed, then paid attention to Fleur Dis Lee. "You, my dear, graduated with a 99.4 average."

Fleur Dis Lee grunted. "Yeah, I did. But that was because I slipped in my last year. I would've been the better student had I not slipped."

"Perhaps, but what you've gotten was what you've earned." Principal Cinch told her.

Fleur Dis Lee grunted again. Principal Cinch then looked at Royal Pin.

"You graduated Crystal Prep with an average of 99.4 as well."

"Mmm...yes."

"Neon Lights, dear," Principal Cinch smiled, "you graduated with an average of 99.3, although it probably would have been much higher had those...events...not happen when they did."

"Yes, ma'am," Neon Lights said, "and probably."

"Still a commendable average despite everything, wouldn't you agree?"

"Yes, ma'am." Neon Lights nodded.

"And last, but definitely not least, is you...Lunar Nights." Principal Cinch looked over the boy top to bottom. "Although ringing in at the end, your average is still an honorable one. You graduated from Crystal Prep with an average of 99.3 yourself."

"I tried my hardest, ma'am," Lunar smirked, "although I probably should have tried a bit more while attending."

"Nevertheless," Principal Cinch continued, "you are all the top twelve students this school has ever seen, except for Twilight, whose grade, although not complete, was a solid 100. But, that is all in the past and is history."

"And as for the games, Principal Cinch?" asked Dean Cadance.

"Ah, yes," Principal Cinch smirked, "the Friendship Games. As you all are well aware of, Crystal Prep has never lost a single Friendship Game while you all attended. You all know: Crystal Prep _always_ wins."

"It isn't even a competition really," Shining Armor said.

"That may be so," continued Principal Cinch, "but nonetheless, we must show Canterlot High School that they cannot win, even if they field their best twelve alumni."

"No problem at all," Indigo Zap smirked, "they couldn't beat us before, why beat us now? They're _asking_ to lose to us all."

"Quite so," agreed Principal Cinch, "and another thing, Canterlot High School's reputation is very much on the rise, whereas our reputation is in a little bit of a slip. We cannot allow their reputation to overcome and pass ourour reputation. It is simply out of the question."

"That'll never happen." Sugarcoat stated. "They've only gotten a rise in reputation because of magic, which that one girl brought to them and they can use whenever they want."

"True," Principal Cinch nodded, "but those girls no longer go there and I've been hearing that they have all gone in their separate directions."

"But what if they are all competing against us?" Neon Lights asked.

"Should we see them, the magic would probably degenerate from them." Principal Cinch paused slightly. "I doubt that magic could reappear after spending a number of years away from each other."

The twelve prestigious students all exchanged looks between one another before anyone said anything.

"Nevertheless," Principal Cinch continued, breaking the ice, "we will not lose to that school again. We will come out victorious, even if they do have magic at their disposal. Indigo Zap, you remembered how you almost single-handedly won the motocross race against those students, despite them using magic, do you not?"

"I do," stated Indigo Zap, "and that was a totally unfair race!"

"Precisely," smiled Principal Cinch, "and if we could nearly beat them them despite the unfairness of it all, we can surely defeat them now."

"Shadowbolts! Shadowbolts!"

"Excellent," Cinch smirked, "so it seems that you are all ready for the games. I'm looking forward to crushing Canterlot High School in such a way, they'll be sorry they ever came up with the idea of an alumni edition."

"Yeah!"

"You may depart," Principal Cinch addressed, "I look forward to seeing you all tomorrow here at Crystal Prep before we embark on our journey to Canterlot High School."

The twelve then bowed at Principal Cinch before exiting her office in a single-file line together. Principal Cinch sat back in her chair and smiled. She knew that Crystal Prep's alumni were more than capable of showing Canterlot High School a thing or two about wanting to compete in an all-star edition of the games and she couldn't wait to show off Crystal Prep's smartest batch of students to ever walk through her doors. The games were set for tomorrow, but the time for it couldn't seen to come by any quicker for Principal Cinch. She watched as her alumni departed from the academy and eagerly waited for the morning to come.

* * *

The next morning, Crystal Prep's alumni had all returned, dressed in their former uniforms and ready to depart to Canterlot High School on the party bus pthat was parked outside the school. Principal Cinch took their attendance, then addressed them as a whole on the bus. She was feeling extra confident today, knowing that Crystal Prep would wipe the floor with Canterlot High School today. She cleared her throat, then spoke out to the alumni.

"I want to thank all of you for coming back to participate in this year's special edition of the Friendship Games." She began, immediately receiving great applause from the alumni. "It is with a warm heart that I welcome back the top twelve students in the history of Crystal Prep Academy. I know you're all well aware that Canterlot High School has done the same and is preparing for our defeat but I'm here to say that it is their alumni that will be defeated, not us."

"Yeah!"

"Beating Crystal Prep is not an option!"

"Yeah!"

"Winning is our priority!"

"Yeah!"

"Who is going to win?"

"Shadowbolts!"

"Who?"

"Shadowbolts!"

"That's right," Principal Cinch smiled, "the Shadowbolts are going to be the victorious ones."

"Yeah!"

"Let us go," Principal Cinch told the bus driver, "onward to Canterlot High School and the Friendship Games!"

"Yeahhh!"

With that motivational speech, the bus started moving and the twelve alumni were on their way towards CHS for the Friendship Games once more. The energy for the Shadowbolts was through the roof and it was more than enough to get everybody pumped up into seeing Canterlot High School fall once more.

* * *

The bus had parked outside of Canterlot High School and the alumni for Crystal Prep had gotten off of it and lined up next to it, chatting amongst each other about previous games. Principal Cinch was the last to get off the bus and was greeted by Principal Celestia and Vice Principal Luna.

"Welcome back to Canterlot High School, Principal Cinch," smiled Princess Celestia. "There have been many changes to our school since you were last here."

"I'm sure there has been," replied Principal Cinch, "and I am more than excited about these games this time."

"As are we, Principal Cinch," Vice Principal Luna said.

"Indeed," added Principal Celestia, "I'm more than happy to welcome back so many familiar faces, just ready to compete again."

"Quite the same," agreed Principal Cinch.

"Let's go check-in your alumni and then we'll settle everyone in the gym for another speech." Principal Celestia suggested.

"After you, Principal Celestia." Principal Cinch said.

The administration for the two schools then walked over to Crystal Prep's alumni and began taking attendance as such.

"Shining Armor?" Principal Cinch called.

"Present!"

"Sugarcoat?"

"Here!"

"Indigo Zap?"

"Here!"

"Sour Sweet?"

"Here! To win!"

"Lemon Zest?"

"Righto!"

"Sunny Flare?"

"Present!"

"Moonlight Sonata?"

Moonlight Sonata rose her hand. Principal Cinch continued with the attendance.

"Dean Cadance?"

"Present, Principal Cinch."

"Fleur Dis Lee?"

"Here."

"Royal Pin?"

"Present, as such."

"Neon Lights?"

"I'm here!"

"Lunar Nights?"

"Here!"

"Perfect," Principal Cinch smiled, "everyone's here."

"Right," Principal Celestia said, "Let's gather in the gym with our twelve competitors and we'll start the games shortly thereafter."

"Of course," Principal Cinch agreed, allowing Principal Celestia to walk into the school. She followed behind her, as did the twelve alumni and Vice Principal Luna, to the gym, eager to start the very close Friendship Games: Alumni Edition.


	3. Chapter 3

_**Chapter 3**_

* * *

As the students from Crystal Prep proceeded into the gym, they were greeted by many Canterlot High students, most of which gave them disgraceful looks. The two schools knew the rivalry between them and, like someone close to Sunset Shimmer once said, "it's hard to get along with someone who beats you at everything." Both sides knew the score between them, with Canterlot High earning a goose egg in terms of total amount of wins over the years.

The students from both schools separated themselves and formed a wide gap between them as well. The students stood on their respective side of the gym and glared at the opposition across from them. Seeing this brought back many memories to the Friendship Games that Sunset Shimmer and Rainbow Dash participated in some years ago. It was almost an exact mirrorized version of their games, seeing the two schools easily separate themselves.

On the stage, Principal Celestia tapped a wired microphone and grabbed everyone's attention. She addressed them all, greeting them kindly, including the Crystal Prep students and alumni.

"Hello and welcome back to Canterlot High School, everyone," she began, receiving mixed emotions from both sides of the room. She continued onward. "I'd first like to extend a warm, Canterlot High welcome to the returning Crystal Prep alumni and our own alumni from Canterlot High as they prepare to participate in this years' alumni edition of the Friendship Games." More cheers broke out as Principal Celestia paused for a moment. She grabbed a breath of fresh air, then continued on. "For those who do not know, the top twelve students from both schools have been called and have agreed to be here to participate in the games. In front of you all are the role models represented by not only Canterlot High, but by Crystal Prep as well. They stand before you, ready to win for their school and bring home glory for said school.

"Ladies and gentlemen," Principal Celestia smiled, motioning towards the Canterlot High School alumni representatives, "allow me to introduce to you the twelve students who will represent Canterlot High School in the games this year: Sunset Shimmer."

Sunset Shimmer waved her arm around and received a loud standing ovation, filled with claps, cheers, and whistling. She stopped waving, smiling very brightly, and turned to Principal Celestia, allowing her to continue with the list of students.

Principal Celestia smirked, "Uhh, next up is Twilight Sparkle, playing against her former school."

Twilight smiled sheepishly, waving to the crowd as well. She too had received a loud standing ovation and began blushing a bright pink color. Principal Celestia found this amusing.

"And now, Flash Sentry."

Flash, laid back at the moment on one of the bleachers, addressed the crowd without standing up. He received a loud ovation before Principal Celestia continued.

"Rainbow Dash."

Rainbow Dash smirked and grabbed a lot of the attention, receiving a very loud and very long set of cheers and clapping.

"Rarity."

Rarity waved at the crowd and brushed her deep purple hair back and away from her face. She kindly received a warm welcome back into the former school, ready to defeat the rival Shadowbolts.

"Cheerliee," continued Principal Celestia.

Cheerliee rose from her seat and waved at the crowd, receiving a decent amount of applause. Principal Celestia continued with the list.

"Next up is Fluttershy," she stated.

Fluttershy, nervous about being called out loud, quivered a wave and received applause as well. She curled herself in a ball after hearing the loud room for herself and would not budge. Skipping the act from Fluttershy, Principal Celestia moved on to the next name on the list.

"Applejack."

Applejack waved to the crowd, pointing at it as well. "We're gonna win this for y'all!" She shouted, receiving a heavy amount of applause.

"That's the spirit," Principal Celestia smiled, moving on to the next name, "now, next up is Lyra."

Lyra waved spastically at the crowd and jumped up and down in palce. The crowd followed Lyra's motions, letting Principal Celestia move on to the next name.

"Big Macintosh," continued Principal Celestia.

"Eeyup," smirked Big Macintosh, gaining much applause.

"Now we have Sweetie Belle."

Sweetie Belle waved rapidly at the crowd and received much applause for her energy. Principal Celestia moved on to the last name on the list.

"And finally," she said, "we have Cranky."

Cranky smiled and waved at everyone in the crowd, receiving no less applause for being mentioned last. Principal Celestia turned and smiled at the twelve alumni, motioning towards them all.

"Ladies and gentlemen," Principal Celestia announced, "your twelve representatives in this years' Friendship Games."

Much applause followed afterwards and was greatly appreciated. Principal Celestia then left the stage, followed closely by the twelve students, as the applause slowly started dying out. It had completely gone away once Principal Cinch stepped foot on the stage. She tapped the microphone and started addressing the crowd in her own way - speaking down towards the crowd.

"I'd firstly like to thank Principal Celestia for having us return once more." Principal Cinch began, clapping at Principal Celestia in the process. She returned to addressing the crowd. "It's been a rather perplexing four years since our last Friendship Games at Crystal Prep Academy. It has been noted that, even though Crystal Prep ended up being victorious, it was the closest games in the history of the Friendship Games. I'd also like to thank Crystal Prep's twelve alumni for taking time out of their days to participate in the alumni edition of the Friendship Games as well and, much like Principal Celestia moments ago, I too shall list the twelve students that will represent Crystal Prep this year.

"Firstly, there is Shining Armor."

As predicted, Shining Armor waved at the crowd, receiving a light amount of cheers from the Crystal Prep students that attended today's games. Like Twilight once said, "Crystal Prep students aren't happy with things they don't do themselves."

Principal Cinch proceeded on with her list of students.

"Next, we have Sugarcoat."

Sugarcoat blew a bubble from the gum she was chewing and stared blankly into the space around Principal Cinch. Cinch saw this and continued the list.

"Indigo Zap is up next."

Indigo Zap smirked, ready to take down her greatest rival, Rainbow Dash, in an event that pitted the two against each other.

Principal Cinch moved on to the next name. "Sour Sweet."

Sour Sweet smiled and waved at the crowd for a few moments then frowned and growled at them for waving back at her. Principal Cinch smirked and moved on.

"Lemon Zest is up now."

"Yeah! Woo!" she cheered.

"Sunny Flare."

Sunny Flare frowned and looked away from the crowd. Principal Cinch ignored it and continued down the list.

"Moonlight Sonata."

She smiled and waved, receiving almost as much applause as Shining Armor did a couple of minutes ago.

Principal Cinch continued, "Up next is our very own dean, Dean Cadance."

Cadance smiled and waved at not only her crowd of Shadowbolts, but at the crowd of Wondercolts, receiving slightly more applause than Shining Armor or Moonlight Sonata did.

"Now is Fleur Dis Lee."

Fleur Dis Lee frowned and cracked her knuckles. She stared at the opposition and plotted taking them down herself.

"Royal Pin."

Royal Pin sighed, waving slightly at the crowd of people behind and around him, receiving next to nothing in terms of applause.

"Neon Lights comes next."

Neon Lights sheepishly waved at the crowd and hid her face behind her hair.

"And finally," concluded Principal Cinch, "Lunar Nights."

Lunar grunted, then stared at his opposition, hoping that he would be the one who would take them down. Principal Cinch continued with her speech, smiling slyly.

"These are the twelve students who will represent Crystal Prep Academy and win for them," she said. "As I look forward to the games, I wish you all the very best of luck, despite the inevitable outcome. Good luck to you all, and I shall see you all prior to the first events starting."

The crowd of Shadowbolts and Wondercolts stared each other down blankly. The Wondercolts knew that this would be their time to win, although the Shadowbolts knew that said win would not happen. As Principal Cinch told them, "Crystal Prep needs to let Canterlot High know that winning and defeating Crystal Prep is simply not an option."

The gymnasium was filled with the students from both schools for a little while longer before being dismissed by Principal Celestia. The Canterlot High School principal dispersed the crowd, telling the students that the first event, the Academic Decathlon, would start in the center of the main hallway in a mere ten minutes.

"Participants should report there immediately." Vice Principal Luna added before the crowd fully disappeared.

Principal Cinch was excited, hoping that her best twelve students would end up crushing Canterlot High's alumni with ease. She left the gym and waited for her students in the center of the main hallway.

* * *

Ten minutes quickly passed for the participants. They all reported to the main hallway and separated themselves, having the Wondercolt representatives stand on the left side of the hall and the Shadowbolt representatives standing on the right side. In the middle, there stood Principal Celestia and Principal Cinch. Vice Principal Luna stood behind them both as they all began addressing whatever crowd had returned to see the first event of the Friendship Games begin. Most of the students cheered for Canterlot High to beat the Shadowbolts, but it was pretty obvious why. It was also noted that the sound of the crowd was uneasy, seeing how they were unsure of how the team of alumni would perform against Crystal Prep. Nevertheless, they would stand by their team, regardless of the outcome. Within a few minutes, Principal Celestia stepped forward and addressed everyone; Wondercolts, Shadowbolts, and onlookers.

"Ladies and gentlemen," she started, "welcome to the first event of the Friendship Games: the Academic Decathlon!" She paused in recognition of the cheers that followed shortly afterwards.

Principal Cinch stepped forward next. "In this first event," she began, "students from both teams will be scored on how well they perform in subjects ranging from Chemistry to Home Economics and everything in between."

"Reminder, students," Vice Principal Luna spoke, "only the top six students from both teams will move on towards the remaining events in the games, so do your best and try your hardest."

"First up is Chemistry," Principal Celestia announced. "One student from both teams will conduct an experiment and result in having to mix chemicals, acids, and bases in an attempt to concoct a mixture inside a test tube and/or beaker."

"Reminder, students, that these chemicals, acids, and bases are highly dangerous," added Principal Cinch, "so work at your own caution."

"At the end," continued Principal Celestia, "you will all be scored on how well you performed the experiment, how fast you completed it, and how safely you performed it. Is everybody ready for the first leg of the Academic Decathlon?"

Both sides nodded in unison, ready to kickstart the first leg of the Friendship Games. Principal Cinch picked her best student, Shining Armor, to represent Crystal Prep in the chemistry portion of the decathlon. Principal Celestia chose Shunset Shimmer to represent Canterlot High School, making a very difficult decision in choosing her over the scientific Twilight.

"Are both competitors ready?" Vice Principal Luna asked.

"Ready!" replied both students.

"Let the Alumni Edition of the Friendship Games begin!" Principal Celestia happily announced, beginning the race and the games.


	4. Chapter 4

_**Chapter 4**_

* * *

With a wave of her hand, Principal Celestia started the first leg of the Friendship Games, the chemistry portion of the Academic Decathlon. Sunset Shimmer and Shining Armor ran down the hallway and into the chemistry room at the end of said hallway.

"Good luck," Sunset Shimmer chimed, putting on her lab coat.

Shining Armor smirked. "You'll need it."

Sunset Shimmer grunted, then put on her eye goggles. She proceeded to her table and quickly went to work, mixing acids and bases in just the right amount, making sure to remain safe above all other things. She turned to Shining Armor, who was successfully mixing the same acids and bases, but on a much quicker pace. Sunset Shimmer paid no attention to the recklessness of Shining Armor and continued mixing her liquids in the beaker.

Principal Celestia then walked into the room with her goggles on and overlooked both students, noticing their different patterns and methods. She noticed Sunset Shimmer going slower, but on a safer basis, and saw Shining Armor mix his liquids in the beaker much quicker, albeit on a much more reckless basis. She overlooked the two for a little while longer - fifteen minutes, to be exact - until she called for both of them to stop in their tracks. The two stopped what they were doing and stepped back away from their work stations, ready to be evaluated on how well they performed.

"First up," Principal Celestia stated, "Shining Armor for Crystal Prep Academy."

Principal Celestia, Vice Principal Luna, and Principal Cinch all studied Shining Armor's final mixture and then his measurements. When they finished jotting down some notes, they turned and discussed silently on Shining Armor's methods taken. When they came to a conclusion, the three wrote down some more notes, then turned and faced Sunset Shimmer.

"Next up," Principal Cinch said, "Sunset Shimmer for Canterlot High School."

The three administration members then studied Sunset Shimmer's final mixture and then her measurements. They jot down some more notes in their pads and then discussed Sunset Shimmer's methods taken. It was a longer discussion than that of Shining Armor's, but it was unsure at the current moment who's method was better than the other's. After careful analyzation, the administration staff congratulated both Sunset Shimmer and Shining Armor and went back into the hallway to address the remaining ten alumni, waiting for their particular subject.

Principal Celestia spoke up first. "Good job to the two participants."

"Next up in the decathlon is physical education." Principal Cinch addressed.

"That's right," continued Principal Celestia, "and in this leg of the decathlon, one student from both teams will race against each other and the clock through an obstacle course located in the gymnasium. Students will be tested solely on how fast they can complete the course."

"Reminder," added Vice Principal Luna, "any illegality conducted by any student during the race will result in time punishment and/or a disqualification for their school for this leg of the race."

Principal Celestia chose Rainbow Dash to represent Canterlot High School during this leg of the race while Principal Cinch picked Indigo Zap to represent Crystal Prep.

"Representing Canterlot High School is Rainbow Dash!" Principal Celestia announced.

"Aww, yeah!" Rainbow Dash cheered. She received some of the loudest applause of the day so far.

"Representing Crystal Prep Academy will be Indigo Zap." Principal Cinch said.

"Hey!"

The two competitors started side by side and immediately, Rainbow Dash challenged Indigo Zap to keep up with her.

"Heh," Indigo Zap smirked, "you'll be the one left in the dust."

"Not if I can say anything about that!" Rainbow Dash replied.

The two alumni positioned themselves ready for the race and were opposite in position from Principal Celestia, who was ready to start the second leg of the decathlon.

"Are the participants ready?" She asked.

"Ready!" Both alumni responded.

"Go!" Principal Celestia shouted, dropping her hand from above her head, starting the second leg of the race.

Rainbow Dash and Indigo Zap then raced out of the hallway and straight to the gym where, as expected, an obstacle course stood. There were hanging ropes, a net to catch anyone, should they fall off, some ladders, tires that laid on their sides, some flat-headed cones arranged in a peculiar pattern, and a bell on the far corner that was to be rung by the winner. Both competitors sprinted for the hanging ropes, with Rainbow Dash reaching them first. She swung from rope to rope with much ease, quickly leaving Indigo Zap behind, whom was having trouble herself with the ropes.

Rainbow Dash, sprinting towards the pattern of static ladders, knew she grabbed herself a lead, but also knew that it was not an assured lead. Indigo Zap was not one to give up easily and pushed herself through the swinging-rope challenge, completing it on her second attempt and rushing towards the ladders. Rainbow Dash, looking back to check on Indigo Zap, completed the ladder section in a breeze and proceeded towards the empty tires to "tip-toe" through.

Indigo Zap, still behind, completed the ladders on a much quicker basis than Rainbow Dash did, catching up to the tire section herself. Rainbow Dash sped through it, but Indigo Zap completed it slightly faster, behind Rainbow Dash by about six feet now.

The two competitors then proceeded towards the flat-headed cones, running stints of suicide runs. They were both equally as fast, although Rainbow Dash slightly started to tire out, slowly, but suringly, allowing Indigo Zap to catch up with her. Finished, they both spotted the bell to ring and ran towards it. It was a neck and neck race to the bell, coming down to just about half a step, but in the end, Rainbow Dash was the one who rung the bell first to end the obstacle course.

Principal Celestia, Vice Principal Luna, and Principal Cinch jotted down some notes on their clipboards, then proceeded to congratulate both Rainbow Dash and Indigo Zap on a job well done. Rainbow Dash took it as a hard-earned compliment, while Indigo Zap took it as a way of them insulting her abilities. The administration staff then went back into the hallway and began to address the crowd of students that could attend to watch and the eight remaining students.

"After everything that has happened," Principal Celestia stated, "the second leg has come to a close."

"Now," added Principal Cinch, "it is time for the third leg: Grammar and Vocabulary."

"In this leg of the race," continued Principal Celestia, "one student from both sides will be tested solely on their grammatical abilities as well as their vivid vocabulary."

"They will answer questions given to them on this piece of paper." Principal Cinch held up the handout, giving an example of what she meant. "There are thirty multiple-choice questions to answer."

"As a reminder," Principal Celestia said, "the students will be graded on completed answered only! Any answer that is wrong, points are taken off. If you do not know the answer to something, you may skip it and have no penalty resulted."

Principal Celestia went over to her group of remaining alumni and chose Cheerliee to participate in this event. Principal Cinch did the same, choosing Royal Pin to represent their academy.

"Cheerliee will be representing Canterlot High School!" Principal Celestia addressed.

"Royal Pin shall represent Crystal Prep Academy!" added Principal Cinch.

"If both competitors are ready," Vice Principal Luna announced, "the third leg of the games shall begin...NOW!"

Both competitors grabbed the sheet of paper and set it down on a hard area they could use in oder to write on said piece of paper. Cheerliee seemed to have no problem with the assignment, although the same could not be said for Royal Pin, seeing how he was having much trouble with just the first question alone.

Cheerliee answered the last question about two minutes later and handed it in to the administration staff of Principal Celestia, Vice Principal Luna, and Prinicpal Cinch. She waited patiently for Royal Pin to finish, looking and glancing all around the current room she was in. She rested her glance on the three principals, then began feeling a bit unseasy after how they responded. She watched them all jot down notes on their clipboards, then saw Royal Pin hand in his assignment. They all watched as Principal Celestia and Principal Cinch graded the assignment Royal Pin gave them, having smiles on their faces. They jotted down some more notes on their clipboards, then turned to both alumni and complimented them on a job well done. Royal Pin smiled back in response whereas Cheerilee wore a false smile. Deep down, she had a feeling that she let her school down on this assignment. Both Principals then grabbed another sheet of paper and placed it face down on their desks. Principal Celestia explained to them that this was the vocabulary portion of the games.

"On the desk in front of you both," Principal Celestia stated, "there is a vocabulary assignment. Again, there are questions for you to answer and you will be timed solely on how well you do on this assignment and leg."

"When you are ready," added Principal Cinch, "feel free to take your sheet and flip it over. Begin working on it immediately and prepare for anything to happen on the paper."

Cheerilee reached out first and grabbed the sheet of paper, flipping it over in front of her. SHe scimmed through the page and noticed right off the bat that there were vocabulary words and terms on that page that she had never heard of before. Royal Pin, on the other hand, smirked, knowing quite a few of these words because of how Crystal Prep Academy taught them, and moderately got through the assignment, finishing it before Cheerliee. He handed in his paper to Principal Cinch, who took it to Principal Celestia for joint grading. Looking at his assignment, they both liked what they saw, then began jotting down notes on their clipboards again. Cheerliee gulped, then began guessing her answers, feeling pressured to answer and complete her assignment as quickly as possible. When she finished, she handed it in to Principal Celestia and Principal Cinch. The two looked over Cheerilee's assignment and had bold expressions on them the entire time. When time had come, Principal Celestia and Principal Cinch both wrote down more notes in their notepads on their clipboards. Once that was done, the three administrative staff members congratulated both Cheerliee and Royal Pin on a job well done, then dismissed them into the hallway, behind their respective groups and awaiting further details. When Principal Celestia, Principal Cinch, and Vice Principal Luna exited the room they were in, they dismissed the crowd for a few moments before proceeding with the decathlon.

"For those who may need to use the washroom or get a drink of water," Principal Celestia said, "use these next five minutes wisely. When we come back, the fourth leg of the decathlon will begin. We shall see you in five minutes."

The crowd began to disperse and go separate ways, preparing each other for the next leg of the games. They may have just started, but both sides mutually agreed that things were just starting to heat up.


	5. Chapter 5

_**Chapter 5**_

* * *

After the intermission and ready to continue with the decathlon, the students and alumni from both schools returned to the center hallway, ready and eager to get back to the games. Sunset Shimmer overlooked Canterlot High School's alumni lineup and noticed that someone was missing.

"Hey," she said after a while, "has anyone seen Cranky?"

The other alumni looked around and wondered what happened to him. They knew he was there a moment prior to the intermission, but now he was nowhere to be seen. Finally, after some time passed, Principal Celestia had returned, being the bearer of bad news.

"During the intermission," she explained, "Cranky had an emergency situation and has been forced to leave abruptly, leaving Canterlot with only eleven alumni. As per the rules, Canterlot will be forced to forfeit one event, but that event will be decided by myself and Vice Principal Luna, agreed to by Principal Cinch."

Sunset Shimmer was shocked, then remembered that Pinkie Pie wasn't here in the games with the rest of her friends. She took out her phone and scrolled down to Pinkie Pie's number, setting up a text message to send to her. Once she found it, she started sending Pinkie a message as fast as her fingers would allow her to go.

 _"Hey, Pinkie,"_ read the message, _"it's Sunset Shimmer. Hey listen. The new Friendship Games have started and we need one more participant to help us beat Crystal Prep. If you're in the area, please try to stop by and give us a hand. Thanks."_

Sunset Shimmer hit 'send' and sent the message on its way towards Pinkie Pie's phone. She turned around and faced the rest of the competition, who had started proceeding to the fourth leg of the Academic Decathlon. She caught up with the group and continued walking slowly behind them, checking her phone every fifteen-to-twenty seconds.

Shortly thereafter, the group of alumni from both schools, followed closely by students from Canterlot High School, reached the next stage of the decathlon. It was slightly peculiar - the current leg, that is - but it had to be done. Principal Celestia smiled, then addressed the conjoined crowd.

"Allow me to introduce the next stage of the Academic Decathlon," she said, "the Music leg of the decathlon."

"Two students from both teams will play a music piece of their own choice," Vice Principal Luna added, "they will be scored on how hard the piece is, how lovely they can make it sound, and their ability throughout the leg."

"Representing Canterlot High School shall be Lyra Heartstrings and Sweetie Belle," Principal Celestia declared.

The two girls raised their hands and waved them back and forth, receiving a suring standing ovation as a result. Lyra seemed raring to go, but Sweetie Belle grew nervous. She always has been told that she had a beautiful sounding voice, but she was still a bit nervous about singing in front of a couple hundred people.

"Representing Crystal Prep Academy shall be Lunar Nights and Moonlight Sonata." Principal Cinch responded, pitting her two best musical students against the alumni from Canterlot High.

"If both teams are ready," continued Vice Principal Luna, "the fourth leg will begin in three...two...one...NOW!"

Bringing down her hand, Vice Principal Luna started the fourth leg of the decathlon and was rushed past by the competitors to specific instruments - Lyra approached the lyre, Sweetie Belle approached the microphone, Lunar Nights approached an acoustic guitar, and Moonlight Sonata also approached one of the spare microphones the music room had. Lunar tuned the guitar, which was out of tune heavily, while Lyra did the same with her lyre, also checking the strings and their durability. As for Sweeite Belle and Moonlight, they checked to see if their respective microphones were in working condition and then connected them to an amp and speaker, putting the volume down lower than usual. Once ready, the competitors stared at Principal Celestia and Principal Cinch. As the visiting school, Crystal Prep was allowed to go first, being limited to a maximum of five minutes.

"First up is Lunar and Moonlight," Principal Cinch smirked. "Whenever you're ready, you two."

Lunar and Moonlight smiled, then began to count down a beat. Lunar started playing a soft melody on the acoustic guitar, playing it with elegance and emotion. He looked at Moonlight, then gave her her cue to start singing, just in case she didn't get a feel for the beat yet.

 _"Saying goes that when you're stuck on a mountain  
_ _You try to go up, you try to go down, you turn around  
_ _To face a wall so you can face yourself  
_ _realizing you've made a mistake._

 _"And you are being stuck on the moon  
_ _like the rest of us, trying to make sense of it  
_ _crying cause we don't have any reason  
_ _we're alone together, cause we all  
_ _share the very same crime_

 _"Some will say that this is not going to last long  
_ _Some will say that if we try we can't go wrong  
_ _As time goes on we are not leaving this place  
_ _Cause when we'll come back we lose our track of time and space_

 _"So together we are all lost on the moon  
_ _We all share our home on the moon, we  
_ _forever we are lost on the moon,  
_ _together we pay your crime on the moon~"_

Moonlight Sonata's voice was very beautiful and purely out of emotion. Her vibrato was on point for the sections needed for excess emphasis and her tone and quality was no less than perfect. Lunar played his heart out on the acoustic guitar and played with just as much emotion as Moonlight sang in. The duo was completely perfect with their performances and happy to have been selected and participated in this leg of the decathlon.

They bowed towards Principal Cinch and Principal Celestia, then walked towards the right of the room, paving the way for Sweetie Belle and Lyra. Sweetie Belle was now even more nervous, seeing how perfectly Moonlight just sang "Lost on the Moon." Lyra patted her back and smiled at her, trying to assure her that she had nothing to be worried about while they performed. It worked momentarily for Sweetie Belle, but she went right back to being nervous. Principal Celestia smiled at the two girls and then introduced them both.

"Representing Canterlot High is Lyra Heartstrings and Sweetie Belle," she stated, "good luck, ladies."

Lyra, knowing perfectly what song Sweetie Belle wanted to sing - they spoke to each other while Lunar and Moonlight performed - started playing her lyre in a key in which the mood and emotion of the song was darker than usual. She smiled at Sweetie Belle, then gave her her cue to start singing.

 _"I knew you were~  
_ _You were gonna come to me  
_ _And here you are~  
_ _But you better choose carefully  
_ _Cause I'm capable of anything~  
_ _Of anything~ and everything~_

 _"Make me your Aphrodite  
_ _Make me your one and only  
_ _But don't make me your enemy~, your enemy~, your enemy~_

 _"So you wanna play with magic  
_ _Boy, you should know what you're falling for~  
_ _Baby do you dare to do this~  
_ _Cause I'm coming at you like a dark horse~_

 _"Are you ready for, ready for~  
_ _A perfect storm, a perfect storm~  
_ _Cause once you're mine, once you're mine~  
_ _There's no going back."_

Sweetie Belle, despite feeling very nervous prior to performing, felt herself get lost in the music. She sang her song very beautifully and made her emphasis known with her vibrato and tone. Lyra, having never played a song in a darker tone and quality on a lyre before, did a masterful job with playing and did a wonderful job sight-reading her music sheet.

Again, just like before with Lunar and Moonlight, Sweetie Belle and Lyra bowed to Principal Cinch and Principal Celestia, making their way out of the room to the right. The two principals jotted down some notes on their clipboards and were faced with a very difficult decision. Both performances were extremely well done and making a decision on who exactly was better was going to be a lot harder than they had anticipated earlier.

"Who knew that we both had students so skillfully masterful in the art of music..." Principal Cinch explained.

"I know," agreed Principal Celestia, "choosing between these two will be very tough."

"I hear you, Principal Celestia," Principal Cinch responded, jotting down more notes on her clipboard.

* * *

Both Sweetie Belle and Lyra were thankful that the singing and music leg of the decathlon were history. Sweetie Belle, despite singing and giving her best performance, was very nervous throughout the song, trying to move and shimmy past the extremely high bar that was set by Lunar and Moonlight.

On the flip side, Lunar and Moonlight were both feeling mixed emotions on their performance. They felt confident in their performance prior to Sweetie Belle's and Lyra's performance, but after they finished, things weren't the same. They were actually left in shock and awe at how well Sweetie Belle and Lyra performed; they weren't expecting that well of a performance from them.

After a few tense minutes, Principal Celestia and Principal Cinch exited the music room and concluded the fourth leg of the decathlon. Principal Celestia then soon came up and stated that the fifth leg of the decathlon would be Home Economics.

"In this leg of the race," Principal Cinch explained, "a total of three students will be tasked with baking a cake. Students will be scored on execution, presentation, and delectableness on the cake they bake."

Principal Celestia looked around her group, easily noticing two contestants who can help out, but wishing she had her third one with them. She glanced around, then asked if anyone knew how to bake a delicious cake.

Principal Cinch, on the other hand, selected her three alumni to represent Crystal Prep Academy: Sunny Flare, Neon Lights, and Fleur Dis Lee. She knew that those three knew a thing or two about baking and had heard that they unsuccessfully tried to start a business in that line of operations. The only reason they had failed was because the rent for space in city limits was obnoxiously high and they weren't able to afford it. After selecting her three students, Principal Cinch turned around and faced Principal Celestia and the two students she had selected: Sunset Shimmer and Rarity. She began smirking at Principal Celestia and asked if they were ready.

"One more moment, Principal Cinch," Principal Celestia answered, going back to her group. She glanced around yet again. "Does anyone else know how to bake a cake?"

The students glumly responded with a collective no by shaking their heads.

Sunset Shimmer and Rarity stared back at their group and wondered what they could do to help, but not much came to mind.

"We can't bake a cake with just the two of us, dear," Rarity exclaimed.

"I know that," Sunset Shimmer sighed. She stared at her phone in her hand and sighed again. "I wish Pinkie would answer me."

Instinctively, as if almost on cue or by magic, Sunset Shimmer's phone vibrated in her hand and she quickly unlocked it to see what notification she just received. Her eyes lit up when she saw what she got.

"Principal Celestia!" Sunset Shimmer yelped.

"What's the matter, Sunset?" Principal Celestia asked, looking back at Sunset Shimmer and slightly startled by the random outburst.

"We have our third member!" Sunset Shimmer continued.

"What?"

"Pinkie Pie has arrived on campus to participate in the games!" Sunset Shimmer happily shouted.

* * *

Out on the front of the campus, the petite party person jumped up and down as she stared at her old school from top to bottom. She was excited to come back and was even more excited that she was called upon to participate in the games. Armed with cake and muffins, Pinkie Pie smiled and was eager to participate in whatever leg of the games she was needed in.

"I'm baaaack~!" She smiled, making her way inside the school.


	6. Chapter 6

_**Chapter 6**_

* * *

It was all falling into place here at CHS as Pinkie Pie arrived just in time for the Home Economics portion of the decathlon, filling in a spot for Cranky. It was almost like something out of a book or a story, but she made it just in time and Principal Cinch approved of the substitution, allowing Pinkie Pie to play in the games. With not even a moment to spare, Pinkie Pie, Sunset Shimmer, and Rarity all got to work on their cake, doing exactly how Pinkie told them to do it and when to do it. As for Crystal Prep's representatives, they too were hard at work and busy baking the cake. Neon Lights took charge and told her teammates to do exactly what they needed to do and when to do it as well.

A couple of hours had passed by since the fifth leg started and the contestants were nearing completion. As they began to pull out the cake and decorate it, time was running out. It wasn't a particularly large cake that the CHS alumni made together, but it was one cake that was made. Pinkie Pie insisted on focusing on not how the cake looks, but how it tastes. She emphasized mainly on taste and she knew just exactly what to put into the cake to make it the best tasting one ever. Neon Lights and her crew, on the other hand, focused primarily on presentation rather than taste. They spent the majority of the time decorating the cake, making sure it looked beautiful and perfect.

Once time was called, the two groups presented each of their cakes to the judges, Principals Celestia and Cinch and Vice Principal Luna, and eagerly awaited the results. The three administrative staff saw both cakes and immediately were drawn towards the cake from Crystal Prep Academy. They each were served a slice and took a bite out of it, giving instant satisfaction for the Crystal Prep alumni. Sunset Shimmer and Rarity began questioning themselves and worrying that they may have been beaten, but Pinkie Pie reassured them.

"Relax, you guys," she smirked, "I know what I'm doing."

"I sure hope so, darling." Rarity remarked.

Pinkie Pie didn't let up on her smile and was even more happier when it was time for them to be judged. Almost instantly, Principal Cinch and Vice Principal Luna wrote something in their notes on their respective clipboards regarding the visual of the cake. Principal Celestia, on the other hand, refused to write anything because, as any professor would know, you can't judge a book by its cover.

After being cut a slice of cake for each of them, Pinkie Pie smirked and told them to enjoy it and she stepped back, hoping to capture the reactions to each of the judges. Deep down, Pinkie Pie knew that the cake wasn't as decorative as the one Neon Lights and her team comprised, but she knew that there was absolutely no way they could be defeated, in terms of taste. After taking one bite from Canterlot High School's cake, faces shot upward and looked straight at Pinkie Pie and her group of friends.

"Tasty," smiled Pinkie, "wouldn't ya say?"

"How did you do this...?" Principal Cinch asked.

"A good chef never reveals her secrets," laughed Pinkie Pie, "It's my secret ingredient."

"Secret ingredient?" repeated Principal Cinch.

"Yup!"

"Was it a foreign ingredient?"

"Nope!"

"It wasn't?"

"It was made entirely in the kitchen, Principal Cinch." Sunset Shimmer explained.

"Is that so?" Principal Cinch responded.

Pinkie Pie smiled and nodded while Principal Cinch jotted down some notes on her clipboard. Principal Celestia and Vice Principal Luna did the same, judging accordingly on what they tasted, rather than how it looked. Sunset Shimmer and Rarity hugged Pinkie Pie, thanking her for coming.

"Anything for my bestest friends ever!" Pinkie Pie cheered, hugging the two back tightly.

"Thank you very much, everyone," Principal Celestia smiled, "you may leave now for the next leg of the decathlon."

"Thank you." the alumni responded simultaneously, leaving the room in a single-file line. They returned to their respective groups, ready to start the next leg of the event.

* * *

"Alright, everyone! It's time for the sixth leg of the decathlon, Physics!"

"Another science category?" Royal Pin grunted.

"Now, now," Principal Celestia continued, "I know we never had more than one science or math category in the games before, but I understand that we have a few physics professors here with us today."

"That is correct, Principal Celestia," Principal Cinch agreed, "may the physics professors please stand forward?"

Emerging from Canterlot High School's side of the hallway was Fluttershy. The students as well as the alumni were all in shock by this. Sunset Shimmer pulled her over gently.

"You're a physics professor?" She asked.

"Umm...yes." Fluttershy answered.

"What happened to being a vet?"

"That's my next step for the future, Sunset." smiled Fluttershy.

Sunset Shimmer smiled in response, then looked back over to the Crystal Prep alumni. Emerging from their group was Sugarcoat. She frowned when she faced her competition.

"Another settling defeat for Canterlot High School." Sugarcoat sighed.

"That's not a very nice thing to say," Fluttershy responded.

"Trust me," continued Sugarcoat, "it isn't a competition on who the nicest people are, you know."

"Now, now, you two," Principal Celestia eased, trying to calm the situation down a bit, "we'll see who the better school is after this event."

"Whatever," Sugarcoat snidely remarked.

"These two professors will go toe-to-toe against each other in a series of physics-based questions." Vice Principal Luna announced. "They will be scored on how accurate and correct their responses are to each question. This is solely a test based on who knows what and how well. If in the event there is a draw between these two, the professor who finishes first will be deemed the winner."

"Take your time," Sunset Shimmer called out, "it's better to go slow and analyze what you're writing rather than speeding through it, even if it is right."

"Right." Fluttershy nodded.

"Are both professors ready?" Principal Celestia asked.

"Ready." Fluttershy called.

"Ready." Sugarcoat boldly responded.

"Let the sixth leg of the decathlon begin!"

Fluttershy and Sugarcoat were taken into a nearby physics classroom. It happened to be empty for today and was already set up with physics-based questions for them. Sugarcoat analyzed the questions - all three of them - and started working on a response prior to even reaching her portion of the chalkboard for her responses. Fluttershy also analyzed the questions and started mapping out and drawing how she would go about answering the questions prior to reaching her portion of the chalkboard.

"I hope you're ready to lose, professor," Sugarcoat rudely replied, "because I already know the answers." She actually knew two of the three answers.

Fluttershy didn't respond and instead went to work on the first question. The question read: _Two blocks are connected by a string of negligible mass that passes over massless pulleys that turn with negligible friction, as shown in the figure above. The mass m2 of block 2 is greater than the mass m1 of block 1. The blocks are released from rest._ _Derive the magnitude of the acceleration of block 2. Express your answer in terms of m1 , m2 , and g._

Fluttershy quickly got to work on such an easy physics question - easy, in the sense that it came naturally to her. She drew a diagram on the board which represented the question and what exactly it was asking for. She set out to work on the math portion of the question. Beneath the diagram she drew, Fluttershy began writing down the formula that was required to answer the question.

 _F_ _net_ _= (m_ _2_ _\- m_ _1_ _)g_

Once she wrote it down, Flutershy continued on with reading the question. She saw that the last part to this question was referring to something else: _Block 3 of mass m3 is added to the system. There is no friction between block 3 and the table. Indicate whether the magnitude of the acceleration of block 2 is now larger, smaller, or the same as in the original two-block system. Explain how you arrived at your answer._

Smirking, Fluttershy went to work on the last portion of the question. She began to write down her answer below the formula she wrote.

 _The acceleration of the new system, and thus of block 2, is smaller. The total mass of the system is now larger, but the acceleration is smaller because the tension that is exerted on block 2 is now greater._

Fluttershy was pleased with her answer and wanted to check on how Sugarcoat handled it, but couldn't in jeopardy of forfeiting the round for accused cheating. She set out to work on the next problem instead. The problem read: _Some students want to know what gets used up in an incandescent lightbulb when it is in series with a resistor: current, energy, or both. They come up with the following two questions:  
_

 _(1) In one second, do fewer electrons leave the bulb than enter the bulb?  
_

 _(2) Does the electric potential energy of electrons change while inside the bulb?  
_

 _The students have an adjustable power source, insulated wire, lightbulbs, resistors, switches, voltmeters, ammeters, and other standard lab equipment. Assume that the power supply and voltmeters are marked in 0.1 V  
increments and the ammeters are marked in 0.01 A increments.  
_

 _(a) Describe an experimental procedure that could be used to answer questions (1) and (2) above. In your description, state the measurements you would make and how you would use the equipment to make them.  
Include a neat, labeled diagram of your setup.  
_

 _(b) Explain how data from the experiment you described can be used to answer question (1) above and explain how data from the experiment you described can be used to answer question (2) above._

Fluttershy was pleased with the difficultly of the questions that were selected for them today. She didn't mind the easy physics questions and found it pleasantful that she didn't need to use much of her brain power to answer them. She set out to work, drawing a diagram on the board. She began drawing a circuit in which the power source, resistor, and the light bulb mentioned before, were all wired in a series circuit. She then drew one ammeter that was connected to the bulb in the series. She then drew in a voltmeter that was connected to the bulb via a parallel circuit and then finished off by measuring the current entering and leaving the bulb with the ammeters, answering the first sub-question, and then began measuring the potential difference across the bulb with the voltmeter, answering the second sub-question. She then set out for her explanations on the bottom of the diagrams and measurements.

 _If the current is the same on both sides of the bulb, then the number of electrons per second entering and leaving the bulb is the same and if the potential difference across the bulb is not zero, then the electrons that leave the bulb have different electric potential energy than electrons that enter it._

Again, Fluttershy was pleased with herself and how she responded. She then looked towards the third question and read it to herself.

 _A block of mass_ m _is projected up from the bottom of an inclined ramp with an initial velocity of magnitude 0v.  
The ramp has negligible friction and makes an angle _q _with the horizontal. A motion sensor aimed down the ramp is mounted at the top of the incline so that the positive direction is down the ramp. The block starts a distance_ D _from the motion sensor, as shown above. The block slides partway up the ramp, stops before reaching the sensor, and then slides back down.  
_

 _Consider the motion of the block at some time t after it has been projected up the ramp. Express your answers in terms of m, D, 0v , t, q and physical constants, as appropriate.  
_

 _i. Determine the acceleration_ a _of the block.  
_

 _ii. Determine an expression for the velocity_ v _of the block.  
_

 _iii. Determine an expression for the position_ x _of the block._

Fluttershy smiled, then set out to work on the last problem. She began by answering the first question, which involved Newton's second law.

 _F_ _net_ _= ma_

 _mg_ sin _q = ma_

 _a = g_ sin _q_

Fluttershy then began answering the second sub-question and started to determine an expression for the velocity of the block now.

 _v_ _2_ _= v_ _1_ _\+ at_

 _v = -v_ _0_ _\+ (g_ sin _q)t_

Upon deriving the expression, Fluttershy moved on to the final sub-question for the question. Rereading the question, she began to determine an expression for the position of the block. It took her a bit longer to figure out a formula, but Fluttershy was able to do it in due time.

 _x = x_ _0_ _\+ v_ _1_ _t + .5at_ _2_

 _x = D - v_ _0_ _t + .5(g_ sin _q)t_ _2_

Upon completion of the last expression, Fluttershy put down her chalk and faced the judges. She had finished the physics portion first and was proud of herself and how she did. As she waited for Sugarcoat to finish - who was struggling with the final question - Fluttershy smiled to herself some more.

 _I knew the answers, too._ Fluttershy thought happily.


	7. Chapter 7

_**Chapter 7**_

* * *

After proving her point in the physics portion of the decathlon, Fluttershy was greeted with cheers from Canterlot High's alumni. Sugarcoat, on the other hand, was left in defeat and was being treated with the cold shoulder, courtesy of the Crystal Prep alumni; talk about déjà vú.

All in all, it was shaping up to be a good decathlon for the Canterlot alumni; they seemed to have the upper hand, and they knew it. As the students and alumni waited for the next leg of the decathlon, they began chatting amongst each other on a game plan for the last four legs, despite not knowing the events.

"We need to be sharp, calm, collective, and precise," Sunset Shimmer said, "this is our chance to beat Crystal Prep once and for all and redeem ourselves for the outcome throughout the years."

"We got this, Sunset," Rainbow Dash smirked. She pointed at the Crystal Preppers across from them, "Just look at them!"

The group ignored the motion and kept up the pep talk. "We need to focus and win, everyone." Sunset Shimmer repeated.

Principal Celestia approached the group and singled out Fluttershy. "What an intelligent physics professor, Fluttershy."

"Thank you, Principal Celestia," replied Fluttershy, blushing a bit, "but those were an easy set of physics questions."

The group, Principal Celestia included, shockingly stared at a smiling Fluttershy. She saw this and addressed them all again.

"Easy is as easy does," she said. It shocked everyone that she was the one to say that.

* * *

After another short intermission, the seventh leg of the decathlon was set to begin. This leg, wood shop, was to pit Rainbow Dash and Applejack against Shining Armor and Indigo Zap. The objective, a simple objective, was to construct a small birdhouse as quickly and sturdily as possible within the allowed time limit, which was thirty minutes.

When Principal Celestia started the leg, Rainbow Dash quickly started drawing up some plans while Applejack went to gather the necessary tools and equipment for them. Shining Armor did the same for Crystal Prep while Indigo Zap drew up her plans.

The duo for Canterlot High quickly set out to work on their wooden birdhouse, cutting pieces, measuring precise measurements for themselves, and starting to put the pieces together. The construction itself didn't take long - about fifteen minutes - but it was proving to be tough since resources were scarce.

As for Shining Armor and Indigo Zap, they had a picture set and stuck with it, creating, constructing, and crafting their ideal birdhouse. It took them all of ten minutes to conjure up a set of blueprints and another ten to construct the birdhouse. The final ten minutes were used to make sure that the birdhouse was indeed safe and sturdy.

Time was called shortly thereafter and the dual teams set out their creations proudly before the judges. It was a tough thirty minutes, but what was done was done. Applejack and Rainbow Dash were the first team to be judged and, since they were being judged primarily on three items, the judging wasn't as long as some of the previous legs were. Once complete, Principal Celestia and Principal Cinch wrote down some notes on their clipboards and then moved on to judge Shining Armor and Indigo Zap on their birdhouse. The total time for judging only took about fifteen minutes between both teams. Once things were complete, everyone was shown back into the hallway and guided into the auditorium. Taking seats on opposite ends, Canterlot High School alumni and Crystal Prep alumni all glanced at the stage to see Principal Celestia up at the microphone, beginning to address them.

"Moving along now," she began, "we begin the eighth leg of the decathlon: the Spelling Bee."

Principal Cinch came up from behind Principal Celestia and addressed the crowd herself. "As you all know, six students from either side will be competing against not only the opposing team, but each other as well in a series of rigorous word spelling and punctuality. Whoever is left last from either side will be the two competitors that move on to the last two legs of the decathlon, both of which happen to be mathematics."

Principal Celestia stepped down from the stage, as did Principal Cinch. They went over to their respective sides and began picking out alumni to represent their school. After both sides were picked, the teams stepped onto the stage with their principals. They were introduced to the crowd one-by-one, starting with Crystal Prep.

"Representing Crystal Prep Academy will be the following students," Principal Cinch smirked, pointing towards her selected six, "Shining Armor, Cadance, Lunar Nights, Sugarcoat, Moonlight Sonata, and Indigo Zap."

The auditorium was relatively silent as the alumni from Crystal Prep proceeded to sit down on their end of the stage. Meanwhile, Principal Celestia approached the microphone and started introducing her six selected alumni.

"Representing Canterlot High School," she began, "we have: Sunset Shimmer, Twilight Sparkle, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, and Rarity."

The auditorium bursted into cheers and applause for Canterlot High's alumni choice. It was a tough choice for Principal Celestia to make - considering the fact that there were _seven_ possible choices - and the final choice option was left a bit sad, but understood how hard it was to make. Applejack, cheering from the sidelines, stood by her other unselected alumni and watched the spelling bee from the crowd with them.

Sitting down at at center table, Principal Celestia, Principal Cinch, and Vice Principal Luna all started the spelling bee and allowed Crystal Prep to go first. Shining Armor was first up and Principal Celestia officially started the bee.

"Shining Armor," Principal Celestia smiled, "your word is: Aberration."

"Aberration," Shining Armor repeated, clearing his throat, "A-B-E-R-R-A-T-I-O-N. Aberration."

"That is correct." Principal Celestia responded.

Shining Armor then went back to his seat while Sunset Shimmer came up to the microphone. She stared at the judges and awaited for her word.

"Sunset Shimmer," Principal Cinch said, "your word is: Abscission."

"Abscission: A-B-S-C-I-S-S-I-O-N. Abscission."

"Correct."

Sunset Shimmer was pleased with herself, then went to sit back down, paving the way for Crystal Prep's Dean Cadance. She stood proudly at the microphone, waiting for her word.

"Cadance, your word is: Buoy."

"Buoy: B-O-U-Y. Buoy." Cadance then realized how she spelt it and gasped. "I meant 'U-O'!"

"We can only take it the first time, Cadance," Vice Principal Luna reminded.

"Sorry, but that's incorrect." Principal Celestia added, feeling bad for Cadance.

Dean Cadance, ashamed with herself for how she misspelt an easy word, proceeded off of the stage and sat with the other alumni from Crystal Prep, heavily receiving the cold shoulder from them. Twilight also felt bad, but went up to the microphone to wait for her word to spell.

"Twilight," Principal Cinch said, hints of sarcasm and jealousy sounding in her voice, "you word is: Cardiopulmonary." Cinch purposely gave Twilight a harder word; she wasn't too happy when she transferred to the enemy school.

Twilight smiled brightly. "Cardiopulmonary: C-A-R-D-I-O-P-U-L-M-O-N-A-R-Y. Cardiopulmonary."

"Correct."

Twilight walked back to her chair while Lunar walked up to the mic, waiting for his word.

"Lunar Night, your word is: Censer."

"Can you use it in a sentence?" Lunar asked.

"Incense is burned in a censer container."

"Censer: C-E-N-S-E-R. Censer."

"Correct."

Lunar smirked, then sat back down. Fluttershy was next up.

"Fluttershy, your word is: Facsimile."

"Facsimile: F-A-C-S-I-M-I-L-E. Facsimile."

"Correct."

Next up was Sugarcoat.

"Sugarcoat, your word is: Eloquence."

"Eloquence: E-L-O-Q-U-E-N-C-E. Eloquence."

"Correct."

Sugarcoat smirked, knowing she was right. She sat back down and allowed Rainbow Dash to come forward.

"Rainbow Dash, your word is: Gerrymander."

"Gerrymander: J-E-R-R-Y-M-A-N-D-E-R. Gerrymander."

"Incorrect."

"What!?" Rainbow Dash responded in shock, leaving the stage to sit down with her alumni.

Cheerilee sat up and whispered to Rainbow Dash that gerrymander was spelt with a G and not a J. Rainbow Dash covered her face with her hands and slouched in her chair, embarrassed that she got a word wrong by one letter. She watched on as it was now Moonlight Sonata's turn to spell a word.

"Moonlight Sonata, your word is: Handwrought."

"Can you use that in a sentence?"

"A metal knife is often handwrought by a person instead of by a machine."

"Handwrought," continued Moonlight, "H-A-N-D-..." She didn't know what letter it was that came next.

"Three seconds," alerted Principal Celestia.

Moonlight gulped. "Handwrought: H-A-N-D-...R-O-U-G-H-T...? Handwrought...?"

"Incorrect."

Moonlight looked down as she stepped off the stage. It was now Pinkie Pie's turn.

"Pinkie Pie, your word is: Gnash."

"Oh that's easy," Pinkie Pie smirked, "N-A-S-H. Gnash."

"...Incorrect."

"Oh yea-WHAT!?" Pinkie was shocked. She stepped off the stage in total rebuttal and embarrassment.

"Indigo Zap, your word is: Idyll."

"Can you use it in as sentence?"

"There is one idyll scene in 'Romeo & Juliet' that stands out the most."

"Idyll: I-D-Y-L-L. Idyll."

"Correct."

Indigo Zap smirked, then sat back down, making way for Rarity.

"Rarity, your word is: Impetuous."

"Impetuous: I-M-P-E-T-U-O-U-S. Impetuous."

"Correct."

Rarity smiled happily, then sat back down. It was time for Shining Armor to return to the microphone once more.

"Shining Armor, your second word is: Impromptu."

"Impromptu: I-M-P-R-O-M-P-T-U. Impromptu."

"Correct."

It was now Sunset Shimmer's turn again.

"Sunset Shimmer, your word is: Kaiser."

"Kaiser: K-A-I-S-E-R. Kaiser."

"Correct."

Lunar Nights was up again now.

"Lunar Nights, your word is: Isthmus."

"Isthmus: I-S-T-H-M-U-S. Isthmus."

"Correct."

Twilight's turn came again.

"Twilight, your word is: Juxtaposition."

"Juxtaposition: J-U-X-T-A-P-O-S-I-T-I-O-N. Juxtaposition."

"Correct."

Sugarcoat was up again.

"Sugarcoat, your word is: Muenster."

"Muenster: M-U-N-S-T-E-R. Muenster."

"Incorrect."

As Sugarcoat shook her head and walked off the stage, Fluttershy came up to the microphone.

"Fluttershy, your word is: Slough [sloo]."

"Slough: S-L-O-O...?"

"Three seconds."

"S-L-O-..."

"Two...one..."

Fluttershy didn't know how her word was spelt and ran out of time. She walked off the stage while Indigo Zap approached the microphone again.

"Indigo Zap, your word is: Sovereign."

"Sovereign: S-O-V-R-E-I-G-N. Sovereign."

"Incorrect."

"Darn..." Indigo Zap sighed as she walked off of the stage.

Rarity approached the microphone once more.

"Rarity, your word is: Subpoena."

"Subpoena: S-U-B-P-O-..."

"Three seconds."

"P-O-...N-A...?"

"Incorrect."

Rarity shook her head as well as she left the stage, allowing Shining Armor to step up to the mic for his third word.

"Shining Armor, your next word is: Vehemence."

"Vehemence: V-E-H-E-M-E-N-C-E. Vehemence."

"Correct."

Shining Armor smirkee, then sat back down. Sunset Shimmer came up next.

"Sunset, your word is: Wrack."

"Wrack: R-A-C-K. Wrack."

"Incorrect."

"Shoot..." replied Sunset Shimmer as she left the stage.

Lunar came up next.

"Lunar, your word is: Autochthonous."

"What?"

"Autochthonous." repeated Principal Celestia.

"...I give up."

"Okay..." Principal Celestia said, confused.

"That leaves us with Twilight Sparkle of Canterlot High School and Shining Armor of Crystal Prep Academy for the final two legs of the decathlon." Vice Principal Luna announced.

"Good job to everyone in the spelling bee," commended Principal Celestia, "we'll take a short break before starting the final two legs of the decathlon here Inn the auditorium."

Shining Armor smirked and glanced at his younger sister. He pointed at her. "I'll be the one who'll win, Twily. Don't forget that."

"I'll be sure to beat you, big brother." A confident Twilight replied.

Sibling battles for the final two legs of the first event of the Friendship Games: Alumni Edition. What could go wrong?


	8. Chapter 8

_**Chapter 8**_

* * *

There was a short intermission as Principal Celestia, Vice Principal Luna, and Principal Cinch got the stage ready for the final legs of the decathlon. It was now down to Twilight Sparkle and Shining Armor and a real sibling rivalry would prove to be imminent. After falling in the last round, Sunset Shimmer and her friends cheered on Twilight from the audience. They knew she was incredibly intelligent, but they didn't know how Shining Armor was compared to her. Twilight looked confident on the outside, but what she felt on the inside was a whole different story.

On the inside, Twilight felt nervous and was worried that she would have a nervous breakdown and cause her to mess up in the final portion of the decathlon. It didn't help her at all that the last two legs were rested on her shoulders for all of Canterlot High to witness and this made her even more nervous. Shining Armor, on the other hand, was all confident in himself that he would be able to defeat his younger sister since he knew almost everything she knew. Almost.

After the short internission, two chalkboards were brought onto the stage for the ninth leg of the frcathlon, which was set to be algebra; basic math problems, really. A chair was set aside next to both chalkboards for Shining Armor and Twilight to take a seat in while they waited. Principal Celestia walked up to the microphone and addressed the audience as addressed whole.

"Ladies, gentlemen, faculty, and students," she began, "we welcome you back from our short intermission and gladly welcome you to the ninth leg of the Academic Decathlon, Algebra!"

"In this leg of the decathlon," Principal Cinch added from another microphone on the opposite end of the stage, "our remaining two competitors will answer one algebra question each. Whichever one answers it correctly wins the round. If in the event there is a tie, whoever answered the question first will be declared the winner."

"Are both competitors ready?" Principal Celestia asked.

"Ready!" Twilight replied.

"Ready." Shining Armor added.

"Then let the ninth leg of the decathlon begin!" Principal Celestia declared.

Vice Principal Luna, who was standing in between the two chalkboards, pulled off the covering from both boards and revealed the question that had to between answered by Twilight and Shining Armor. The question read: What is the reduced form of √(18(x^9)(y^16))?

Immediately, both Twilight and Shining Armor went to work on the problem and as quickly as possible. Twilight computed the answer and transferred that to the chalkboard within seconds. As for Shining Armor, he had a bit more trouble answering the question, primarily because he has been out of school for a longer time than Twilight has been; about four more years than her, to be exact.

Twilight wrote down her answer - 3(x^4)(y^8)(√2x) - on the chalkboard, then faced the judges. Shining Armor wrote down his answer - 3(x^4)(y^8)(√2) - then also faced the judges. Carefully analyzing the answers, Principal Cinch walked up in between the two siblings and faced their chalkboards. After tense silence, she pointed to Shining Armor's chalkboard and remained even more silent for an added dramatic effect.

"Incorrect." She finally said.

Twilight smiled while Shining Armor frowned, then their two proceeded to erase their chalkboards. They eagerly awaited for the last leg of the decathlon, which was said to be geometry. After declaring Twilight the winner of the Algebra portion of the decathlon, Principal Celestia walked back up on stage and proceeded to cover the chalkboards. She then began writing down the last question for both Shining Armor and Twilight while Principal Cinch introduced the last section of the decathlon.

"On to the final legs of this decathlon: Geometry." Principal Cinch declared. "Students will answer one question on their own and whoever gets it right first will be the winner."

Principal Celestia smiled, then removed herself from the stage. Both chalkboards were still covered up and the question wasn't visible just yet. Principal Cinch then asked if the competitors were ready for the final leg of the decathlon.

"Ready!" An eager Twilight anticipated.

"Ready." A humble Shining Armor added.

"Then let the last event begin!" Principal Cinch announced as Vice Principal Luna removed the coverings to unveil the final question.

It was a triangle question and it read: Find Angle X in Triangle ADE. The question had a diagram where Triangle ABC was the largest triangle there and had some set angles for a few, smaller triangles. Twilight set out to work immediately on the puzzle where the missing angle was part of one of the smaller triangles. As for Shining Armor, he started on a macro level and opted to work to the micro stages. Twilight worked in the opposite order.

"So, the three angles to Triangle ADB are 80 degrees, 60 degrees an an unknown assailant." Twilight began. She worked from the small picture, outward and was able to determine the final angle in the triangle based off of common knowledge of triangles. "The last angle is 40 degrees. Now for the other one."

Working quickly, Twilight drew another vector and labeled an intersection point, Point F. She began searching for the three angles in Triangles ADF and BFE, finding their respective angles with much ease.

"The three angles on Triangles ADF and BYE are 10, 40, and 130 degrees and 20, 30, and 130 degrees for each respective triangle. Triangle AFB is 50, 60, and 70 degrees respectively and Triangle ABC is an isosceles triangle with two 80 degree vectors and one 20 degree one. As for Triangle AEC, the two known angles are 10 and 20, leaving the final angle to be 150."

Twilight conducted a few more calculations and eventually wound up with angles answer. However, the answer wasn't one that was sitting well with her.

"How is this possible?" She asked herself.

The final answer she got for the unknown angle was 110 degrees, which didn't sink right away because of how the angle was drawn in the original picture. The answer Twilight got was an answer with an obtuse angle; the angle drawn on the board was that of an acute angle.

"This doesn't make sense..." She muttered. She glanced over towards Shining Armor and saw that he was a bit befuddled as well with the perplexing answer, although she wasn't sure if he got to the same conclusion as she did.

Laying it all on the line, Twilight hesitantly put down her chalk and turned around to face the judges. She was an bit nervous with her answer, but was confident in her mathematical abilities. Shining Armor turned around moments later and the moment of truth had come to arrive. Upon quick glance again, Twilight saw that Shining Armor wrote down 20 degrees and gasped. She was now unsure of who had the correct answer.

Principal Cinch walked onto the stage and overlooked both Twilight's work and Shining Armor's work on the chalkboards. She stared long and hard at them, then stood in the middle of them both. She pointed to Shining Armor and his answer and paused for what seemed like an eternity for an added effect.

"Incorrect." Principal Cinch finally mustered.

Both Twilight and Shining Armor were left in a confused state.

"What?" They both stated.

"Twilight Sparkle's answer is correct," Principal Cinch explained, "unfortunately, Shining Armor, your's is not."

"How can that be?" Shining Armor asked. He looked at Twilight's answer and was even more disgruntled. "That answer doesn't even make sense for the angle that was asked for."

"Normally, yes." agreed Principal Cinch, but she them pointed to a sentence that haunts many children that was written below the original diagram on their boards. "But the original triangle was not drawn to scale, so the answer makes sense in this case."

"Not drawn to-" Twilight looked at the sentence and it never registered to her that her answer may or may not make sense. She breathed a long sigh of relief when she read that and it had finally registered with her.

"Good job, Twily," Shining Armor said, hugging his little sister. Deep down, he sincerely felt a bit bitter.

Twilight smiled, then acknowledged Shining Armor's kind words. "Thanks, Shining Armor."

Principal Celestia and Vice Principal Luna then began walking onto the stage to address everyone that was in the crowd.

"Ladies and gentlemen," began Principal Celestia, "this brings our Academic Decathlon to a close."

There was an small pause for the applause made by the audience in the auditorium. Once things silenced a bit, Vice Principal Luna continued on with the announcement.

"Twilight Sparkle is the winner of the decathlon." She declared. There was another pause as the audience cheered for Twilight while she waved at the crowd.

"After careful tally of the scores throughout the round," continued Principal Celestia, "the six alumni that will move on to the next round are: Twilight Sparkle, Sunset Shimmer, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Rarity, and Fluttershy!"

The crowd cheered for the six alumni that were to move on to round 2 and represent Canterlot High School. Even Pinkie Pie, who wasn't chosen by a mere hundredth of a point, was cheering for her friends as she would continue to support them from the stands instead of from the field.

As Principal Cinch approached the microphone, she addressed the crowd as well and listed her six alumni that would be moving on to round 2 as well.

"Going up against Canterlot High's six chosen alumni will be these following alumni from Crystal Prep," announced Principal Cinch. She began reading off a set of names from her clipboard, "Shining Armor, Sugarcoat, Lunar Nights, Cadance, Indigo Zap, and Moonlight Sonata."

The crowd cheered happily for the six chosen alumni that would represent Crystal Prep in round 2 of the Friendship Games, which was ironic considering their current location. Once the cheering stopped, Principal Celestia came back up to the microphone to address everyone once more.

"Would everyone please report to the field outside for round 2 of the Friendship Games," she said, following it up quickly, "and would the 12 alumni that were chosen please report to their respective principals? Thank you."

Principal Cinch left the stage to greet her chosen alumni, as did Principal Celestia and Vice Principal Luna. First and foremost, the two sisters congratulated the chosen alumni, then quickly addressed the others.

"We're sorry that you didn't quite make it to the next round, Pinkie Pie," Principal Celestia stated.

"It's okay," smiled Pinkie Pie, hugging her friends tightly, "that just means that I'll have to cheer super duper loudly for all my friends!"

Principal Celestia smirked. "Touching."

"It is!" Pinkie Pie agreed.

Principal Celestia noddee, then moved on to the six chosen ones. "Things are going to be a bit different in the next round than when you girls last participated in the games."

"Different how?" Rainbow Dash asked, quizzical look and whatnot.

Principal Celestia chuckled slightly before escorting everyone out onto the playing field. "You'll find out in due time, Rainbow Dash."


	9. Chapter 9

_**Chapter 9**_

* * *

After the Academic Decathlon came to a riveting finish and the alumni that moved on to round 2 of the Friendship Games were announced, everyone made their way towards the field outside the school. Everyone was excited about the next couple events, especially since this was the first time ever that Canterlot High School left the first round with the lead. Outside the school on the field were three sections to round 2. These sections consisted of slightly different events than the last time any of them played in the games. Today's sections were: archery, skeet shooting, and finally speed skating. The last time any of the alumni did this round, there was motocross involved instead of skeet shooting, but thanks to a slight mishap with the schools, skeet shooting became today's second event instead of motocross being the final event. As the alumni from both schools made their way onto the field, they separated and flocked over to their respective principals to be assigned legs to participate in.

"Okay, everyone," Principal Celestia called, "gather around."

The six chosen alumni for Canterlot High gathered around Principal Celestia, awaiting for their orders. Principal Celestia glanced around at everyone, formulating a plan to use in an attempt to put away Crystal Prep in the second round. She smiled, then addressed everyone at once.

"Okay," she smiled, "so things are just a bit different than last time for all of you. As you can see, there is no motocross track this year. Instead, we have skeet shooting. Do any of you girls know what skeet shooting is?"

"It's when a clay plate is flung into the air and someone shoots it down with a shotgun," answered Rainbow Dash, "it was one of my favorite events to watch growing up with my father."

"Exactly, Rainbow Dash," nodded Principal Celestia, "now, an awkward question, but who here knows how to handle a shotgun?"

"I do!" called Rainbow Dash.

"Anyone else?"

"I guess that I can try it out, Principal Celestia," Applejack volunteered.

"Alright," sighed Principal Celestia, "now as for the other two events…"

"I can take archery, Principal Celestia," Twilight smiled.

"Me too," added Fluttershy.

"Good," Principal Celestia smiled, "so that leaves Sunset Shimmer and Rarity for the speed skating part. I think that's a good matchup, don't you?"

"It's a great one, Principal Celestia," declared Sunset Shimmer.

As Canterlot High prepped for their approach to the second round, Principal Cinch did the same, setting up her chosen alumni for the best possible matchups.

"For the skeet shooting," Principal Cinch began, "Shining Armor and Lunar Nights shall represent Crystal Prep. As for the speed skating, Indigo Zap and Sugarcoat have requested that and their request shall be granted. That leaves Cadance and Moonlight Sonata with the archery. I trust that you'll be able to pull your weight on the archery, ladies."

"We will," they answered back.

"Then it's settled then." Principal Cinch smirked. She gathered her chosen alumni closers to her. "Do anything that it takes for us to win. Playing dirty will give us an advantage over those goody-goody two shoes Canterlot High has."

Her alumni all agreed and smirked slyly at Principal Cinch, who excused herself to sit down in the booth with Principal Celestia and Vice Principal Luna. Once everyone was ready, Vice Principal Luna rose from her seat and approached the microphone that was positioned next to her.

"Welcome, everyone, to the second round of this year's Friendship Games!" Vice Principal Luna announced, receiving a hefty amount of applause in response. "In this round, the alumni chosen from round one will compete in a race against each other through three events: archery, skeet shooting, and speed skating. The alumni will start with archery, then proceed to skeet shooting once both members of the school have completed the event prior. If both schools and alumni are ready to begin, then let the games begin!"

A horn sounded off somewhere and the second round got underway. Twilight and Moonlight Sonata then rushed forward and huddled over the first barrier, a stack of hay. Moonlight Sonata more jumped over the stack of hay whereas Twilight casually climbed over it. When Moonlight arrived at the platform to shoot the arrows from, she shot one arrow and was able to hit the target easily in the middle. She smiled, then gave Cadance the okay for her to go forward through the obstacles. As for Twilight, she just got to the platform and started to fire off some arrows at her target, although she was missing quite a lot.

"C'mon, Twilight," she told herself, "you can do this."

She took in a deep breath, then fired off her final arrow. The arrow soared through the air and managed to strike the target in the center. Twilight beamed with delight, then gave Fluttershy the okay to start the obstacle course. Fluttershy rushed forward and gently climbed over the stacks of hay that lay in the way.

Cadance reached the platform shortly after Fluttershy started her attempt at the event. She took aim at the moving target and fired off an arrow, which missed. Fluttershy was slowly catching up to her and Cadance knew she had to hurry if she wanted Crystal Prep to come out victorious. She fired off another arrow at the target and managed to hit it, but not in the center, the required area. Fluttershy reached the platform and began firing some arrows herself, missing the target as well. It was now becoming a race to see who would nail the target first, but both parties kept missing. At long last, on her final arrow, Cadance managed to finally hit the center of the target and felt relieved. She looked over to Shining Armor and Lunar Nights, giving them the all-year to start the skeet shooting. As for Fluttershy, she hit the target seconds after Cadance did and gave the all-year to Rainbow Dash and Applejack.

Now came the problem: both teams were at the skeet shooting event together and there was only one station, making things completely unfair for the other team. Seeing this, Principal Celestia addressed the crowd and told them that both side would take turns shooting the clay discs out of the air and that the first side to hit three discs in consecutive order would be allowed to move on to the speed skating. Since Crystal Prep finished the archery first, they were allowed to shoot first. Shining Armor grabbed the shotgun first and positioned himself to take his first shot.

"Pull!"

The machine swung a clay disc into the air at a high velocity. Aiming at the disc, Shining Armor took his first shot, but missed the disc as it kept gliding through the air, hitting the ground some ways away. Shining Armor was disappointed in himself, missing the shot, and made way for Rainbow Dashes first attempt. He left the shotgun on the table in front of him, positioning the barrel towards the field away from everyone else. Rainbow Dash stepped up and set herself up, prepping for her first shot.

"Pull!"

Rainbow Dash watched the position of the disc as it glided through the air. She took aim and shot the shotgun, hitting the disc and shattering it in the air. Rainbow Dash received a rousing amount of applause and she smirked, pleased with her performance. She left the gun on the table and allowed Lunar Nights to step up and take aim at a new disc.

"Pull!"

The machine shot out another orange colored disc and sent it gliding through the air. Lunar took aim at the disc and fired the shotgun, pulverizing the disc in the air. It left a small cloud of orange dust as it shattered, leaving Lunar feeling content with himself. He stepped away, making way for Applejack and her first attempt.

"Pull!"

Applejack, driven by the fact that she had to perform as well as Rainbow Dash, quickly took aim at the disc and fired at it. She managed to clip the disc moments after it was launched into the air. She glanced back at Rainbow Dash and smirked at her. She placed the fun back on the table and stepped back towards her, whispering to her.

"Bet you'll miss your next target." Applejack challenged.

"I bet you'll miss your next target," Rainbow Dash slyly replied.

Shining Armor approached the table again and slowed his breathing. He called for the disc to be thrown again and this time he aimed just in front of the disc. As soon as he fired the weapon, he saw the disc slightly change trajectory, but wasn't too sure if he made contact with it or not. He looked back for a confirmation from Vice Principal Luna, the judge of the skeet shooting, and waited for a response. Vice Principal Luna glanced at the disc through a set of binoculars and studied it closely. She noticed that a small piece of the disc was broken off and concluded that the bullet Shining Armor fired from the gun made contact with the disc; albeit slight contact, but contact nonetheless.

"The disc was shattered by the bullet!" Vice Principal Luna announced. "Shining Armor made contact."

Shining Armor let out a sigh of relief, leaving the gun on the table and stepping back for Rainbow Dash.

"Pull!"

The disc was fired out of the machine and Rainbow Dash took aim at it. She fired the gun and slammed the disc with the bullet, shattering it to pieces. She turned around at Applejack and stuck her tongue playfully out at her.

"Told ya I'd hit it," she smirked.

Lunar Nights once again stepped up to the table and took aim with the gun.

"Pull!"

The disc fired through the air and Lunar immediately shot it down, placing the gun down seemingly as he shot it. He turned around and smirked slyly at Rainbow Dash and Applejack.

"Can't do that as fast as I can," he boasted.

Applejack took no notice to it, but Lunar's boasting was bothering Rainbow Dash very much. She wanted to get back at Lunar for his boasting. Applejack stepped back up to the table and took out a blindfold. She blindfolded herself and took a deep breath.

"Pull!"

The disc fired into the air and Applejack miraculously followed it. She fired the gun and blasted the disc into pieces. After shattering the disc, she took off the blindfold and received plenty of cheers and applause for her daring act. She stared back at Lunar and smirked at him.

"Can't do that like I can, buddy," she laughed, high-fiving Rainbow Dash.

"That's the AJ I remember!" Rainbow Dash shouted proudly.

Shining Armor shook his head and stepped up to the table once more. He gripped the barrel of the shotgun and slowed his breathing.

"Pull!"

The disc fired through the air again and Shining Armor took aim at it. He pulled the trigger and missed the target. Shining Armor let out a disgruntled sigh and stepped back from the table. Rainbow Dash, more confident now that Shining Armor failed to convert again, stepped back up to the table and took aim.

"Pull!"

The machine shot the disc through the air and Rainbow Dash took aim at it, following it closely. She slowed her breathing, then pulled the trigger. She smiled when she saw the results. She set the gun down and turned to Applejack.

"No pressure, AJ," she said.

Lunar stepped back up to the table and still felt the after effects of Applejack last attempt; her blindfold attempt. He took aim and then started to slow his breathing.

"Pull!"

The disc was then fired into the air and as Lunar watched it, he couldn't find himself to pull the trigger. Just before the disc hit the ground again, Lunar finally fired the gun, but at that point, the disc was too far out of range. Lunar held his head low as he turned around and walked back to the side.

"Let's finish this, Dash," Applejack said, stepping up to the table. "Pull!"

Applejack took aim at the disc and fired as quickly as possible. It wasn't a good shot, but the bullet still managed to hit the disc; albeit a light hit. She smirked, then turned around.

"Looks like we win." Applejack boasted.

But there was still one leg left to go for Crystal Prep to mount a comeback: speed skating.


	10. Chapter 10

_**Chapter 10**_

* * *

Moving forward from the skeet shooting, Canterlot High's final two alumni - Sunset Shimmer and Rarity - skated onto the track to start the race. As for Crystal Prep's alumni - Shining Armor and Lunar Nights - they had to speed through the rest of the skeet shooting. They had already fallen behind, but now it was imperative that they catch up.

Shining Armor successfully shot the next three discs down, as did Lunar, over the course of the next ten minutes. Unfortunately for them and for Crystal Prep, they were already behind Canterlot High by five laps out of ten. For them to make a comeback now, a drastic catastrophe would have to happen for Canterlot High.

As soon as Lunar Nights shot down the last disc for Crystal Prep, Indigo Zap and Sugarcoat bolted out of the starting gate and tried speeding their way back into the competition. Sunset Shimmer noticed the speed Indigo Zap and Sugarcoat were approaching them and moved out of the way so they could pass by. Nothing went noticed as the two Crystal Prep alumni whizzed past by the two Canterlot High alumni.

As both schools crossed the line to begin the next lap, Canterlot High School had a monumentous 6 lap to 1 lap lead over Crystal Prep, although Crystal Prep was whizzing by and speeding through the lap as if it were nothing to them at all. Within a couple of minutes, Crystal Prep had completed their second lap and were closing the gap between them and Canterlot High.

Before long, Indigo Zap and Sugarcoat were closing in on Sunset Shimmer and Rarity once again. The lap total now was 7 to 2, in favor of Canterlot High. Canterlot High School only needed to complete three more laps to take the win in the second round of the Friendship Games and win the entire games all together. As Indigo Zap rushed next to Sunset Shimmer on her left side, Sugarcoat rolled up against Sunset Shimmer on her right side and, together, made the motion as if they were trying to bump Sunset Shimmer, although no contact was made.

Sunset Shimmer, however, jerked slightly to the left, away from Sugarcoat's attempted bump. She then lost her balance and nearly fell over on top of Indigo Zap, who managed to skate away at the last second to avoid collision. Sunset Shimmer fell over on the ground and banged her knee up badly against the concrete. As Indigo Zap and Sugarcoat rolled away, rapidly closing the gap, Rarity turned around and rolled back to Sunset Shimmer. She reached out to her to see if she was okay, but Sunset Shimmer didn't respond. She held her leg tightly, trying to ease the pain away, but to no avail.

"Can you stand, dear?" Rarity asked, kneeling down on one knee and next to Sunset Shimmer.

"No!" cried Sunset Shimmer in response. The pain was starting to become unbearable.

Rarity turned to find Principal Celestia in an attempt to call her over. In the meantime, Indigo Zap and Sugarcoat continued skating around, now on their fourth lap to Canterlot's seventh. They were closing the gap faster now that Sunset Shimmer had been injured. Principal Cinch saw what the girls did and hid a smile away from Principal Celestia and Vice Principal Luna. She also saw how Rarity was trying to call Principal Celestia and alerted her.

"Principal Celestia," Principal Cinch called, "I do believe that your student is trying to call you over to her."

Principal Celestia looked over and saw Rarity calling her. She got up from her chair as quickly as possible and started making her way towards Rarity. As she drew closer to them, she began noticing that Sunset Shimmer was on the ground, agonizing in pain, while Sugarcoat and Indigo Zap rolled passed the two stopped alumni again. Principal Celestia stopped next to Sunset Shimmer and helped her out.

"What happened, Sunset?" She asked.

Sunset Shimmer looked towards Sugarcoat and Indigo Zap as they passed by again. She pointed to Sugarcoat, and explained to Principal Celestia how she was pushed down as they passed by the first time.

"A bit of unsportsmanlike conduct, Principal Celestia," Rarity said.

With a stern face, Principal Celestia looked back towards Principal Cinch and then back at Sunset Shimmer and Rarity again. She spoke softly to them, telling them that she'll talk to Principal Cinch as soon as she gets back to her seat. She reached out to Sunset Shimmer and began helping her onto her feet, but Sunset Shimmer couldn't put any weight on her knee. Principal Celestia called for Vice Principal Luna to come over as well and help out with Sunset Shimmer.

As Vice Prinicpal Luna approached Sunset Shimmer and Principal Celestia, Indigo Zap and Sugarcoat coasted passed the finish line. The race had ended with Crystal Prep winning the event and round, albeit under unsportsmanlike conditions. As for Sunset Shimmer, she was helped onto a stretcher and was taken away from an ambulance that Rarity had called in. Sunset Shimmer was still groveling in pain as she was taken away in the ambulance. Her friends wanted to come along and support her as she dealt with the pain, but just before she left, Sunset Shimmer stopped them and told them to win the games for her and for Canterlot High.

"Are you sure you don't want us to come along, Sunset?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"I'm sure," Sunset Shimmer replied through her pain, "just beat Crystal Prep for me."

"We will, dear," Rarity answered.

Sunset Shimmer smiled as the doors to the back of the ambulance were shut. Her friends all watched the ambulance roll away towards the hospital until it was finally out of sight. Principal Celestia came back to everyone and alerted them that someone had to take Sunset Shimmer's spot on the team of six and, since Pinkie Pie was the seventh best on the team, she decided that it would be her.

"But what about the race?" Rarity asked.

"I asked Principal Cinch and as we watched the race over again, while making the gestures, Indigo Zap and Sugarcoat never physically touched Sunset Shimmer." Principal Celestia sighed. "They didn't technically push Sunset Shimmer down, although I believe you girls more than I believe Principal Cinch."

"So now what?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"We have to play the final event: The Pennant Hunt." Principal Celestia answered.

"But it's not fair!" protested Rainbow Dash. "They should have been disqualified! Were it the students, that's how it would have ended!"

"Calm down, Rainbow Dash," Principal Celestia called, "I know how you feel and I would want them to disqualify themselves as well, but since no contact was made, there's nothing I can do."

Rainbow Dash tried fighting back verbally, but was shut up by Applejack covering her mouth. She shot a mean look at Applejack and expected an explanation.

"Calm down, Dash," Applejack said.

"Mnd why sould I?" Rainbow Dash asked through her covered mouth.

"Because if we win this last event," continued Applejack, "then we can win it for Sunset."

The group of rattled friends all exchanged looks between each other. They weren't convinced yet that they should keep playing in the games. Flutterhsy looked down in particular and muttered something to herself.

"Sunset would want us to play for her."

Fluttershy tried her best to raise her voice, but was scared of what the others would think of it. Although she tried covering her own voice, it was loud enough for others to hear it and discussion between them began. If Sunset Shimmer were here, she would want them to keep playing, even if she weren't injured. After much discussion, Fluttershy's words had sparked a fire between everyone. They determined that if they were to continue playing the games, it would be for Sunset Shimmer.

"Come on, ladies," Rarity smirked, putting her hand in the center of the circle they had all formed, "let's do this for Sunset Shimmer!"

"For Sunset!" Rainbow Dash called, putting her hand in the center with Rarity.

"For Sunset!" Applejack added, following Rainbow Dash and putting her hand in the center.

"For Sunset!" Pinkie Pie beamed, adding her hand to the center.

"For Sunset!" Twilight repeated, following everyone's notion.

"For Sunset!" Fluttershy concluded, putting her hand in the center.

"We can do this, ladies," Rarity continued, "we will emerge victorious for the sake of Sunset Shimmer."

"Yeah!"

"Come on, everybody," Rainbow Dash smiled, "let's win this together!"

"Yeah!"

The group of six friends all followed one another as they approached Prinicpal Celestia once again. Principal Celestia saw the determination each of them had and knew that they would continue to play in the games. She smiled and began to lead them to the school courtyard in preparations for the final event. In the meantime, Principal Cinch was hiding Canterlot High School's pennant somewhere in the school while Vice Principal Luna was hiding Crystal Prep's pennant somewhere else in the school.

* * *

Lined up on opposite sides, Canterlot High School and Crystal Prep Academy were both eager to start the last event of the Friendship Games. They waited for Principal Cinch to come back outside so that the event could start.

Between themselves, Canterlot High School's alumni all started preparing a plan to conduct while looking for the pennant. Since the school itself was large and diffferent slightly from when they last attended the school - well, most of them, that is. The team split the school into six sections: First floor east, First floor center, First floor west, Second floow east, Second floor center, and Second floor west. They were going to stay in contact via their phones and would alert the others if they found the pennant.

As for Crystal Prep and their alumni, they developed a plan in which they would stick together and search all sections of the school together. They thought that six set of eyes looking around the school for a pennant instead of one set would be more productive that way. They opted to start searching for their pennant on the second floor of the school and work their way down.

At long last, Principal Cinch finally arrived back outside and stepped next to Vice Principal Luna. Principal Celestia saw this and began addressing the crowd, eagerly awaiting to see who would be crowned as the winner of the Friendship Games.

"Ladies and gentlemen," Principal Celestia began, "the final event of the Friendship Games is finally upon us all: The Pennant Hunt!" Principal Celestia paused for a moment of cheers between the two schools before picking back up. "Somewhere on campus, there is a pennant from both schools that is hidden somewhere. The contestants must find their respective pennant and bring it back to the courtyard in order to be named the winner of the round and of the Friendship Games! Note, however, that if you find the other school's pennant, you must leave it alone and move onward. If anyone moves a pennant that is not from their school, their school will be disqualified. If both teams are ready, let the final event begin...now!"

Lowering her hand, Principal Celestia started the final event of the Friendship Games and as both teams rushed inside the school to find their pennant, things were now more heated than when they were in round 2.


	11. Chapter 11

_**Chapter 11**_

* * *

"Come on, everyone! Let's find that pennant!"

Rainbow Dash led the group of friends into the school and immediately spread and scattered themselves throughout the school. As for Crystal Prep, they stuck together as a group and ran up the stairs to the second floor. The objective was to find their school's pennant before Canterlot High School did. Should they be the first to find Crystal Prep's pennant, they would win the Friendship Games in comeback style and fashion, something that has never been done before.

As Rainbow Dash ran up the stairs, skipping every other step, she called out to the others on her walkie talkie.

"I'm approaching my section, everyone." She said.

"I'm searching through mine." Applejack replied.

"Proceeding with the search, darling," Rarity added.

"I, uhh, I'm searching," Fluttershy squeaked.

"I'm entering my section now," Pinkie Pie gleefully remarked.

"Proceeding search instruction now." Twilight finished.

"Alright," continued Rainbow Dash, "whoever finds it first, let us know. We'll meet back in the courtyard as quickly as we can."

"Right!" Everyone chimed.

"Okay," said Rainbow Dash, "Dash, out."

Rainbow Dash put away her walkie talkie and began searching in her designated section of the school. It was the largest and most open section of the school, but since Rainbow Dash was a natural athlete, the size didn't seem to bother her at all. She entered the library and started searching all over for the pennant. She searched high and low, across all shelves, carts, desks, and tables, but couldn't seem to locate the missing pennant. She was just about to leave the library until she saw something sticking out of a book from the corner of her eye. Rainbow Dash began jumping with joy when she started getting close to it and saw and small triangle figure sticking out of the book. she pulled out the book and the walkie talkie and was just about to make the announcement to the others when she took an even close look and what she uncovered.

As she opened the book to the page that housed the foreign item, she noticed that this wasn't the right pennant. Rainbow Dash looked longer to make sure she was seeing what she was seeing. She had found Crystal Prep's pennant by accident.

"Uh, guys," Rainbow Dash called over the walkie talkie. She folded the pennant and closed the book shut, making sure it couldn't be seen in an obvious setting. She put the book back on the shelf and ran out of the library.

"What's up, Dash?" Applejack called back.

"I just found Crystal Prep's flag pennant." She alerted them.

"Where?" Pinkie Pie asked.

"In the library." Rainbow Dash whispered.

"We need to hurry then," responded Pinkie Pie, "I just saw them run up the stairs on the far right of the school."

"Then we don't have much time." Rarity stated.

"How y'all doin' with your searches?" Applejack asked. "Ah di'n't find anything in the gym."

"I finished up the library and didn't find anything else there," answered Rainbow Dash, "I'm going to check the math rooms now."

"Nothing in the auditorium." Rarity replied.

"Empty in the science rooms." Twilight added.

"In didn't find anything in the Home Economics rooms." Pinkie Pie said.

"Nothing in the music room." Fluttershy completed.

"Let's move then," Rainbow Dash said, "Crystal Prep is sure to find their pennant if we keep missing ours. Check back with you all in about ten minutes."

"Right." They answered in unison.

Rainbow Dash put the walkie talkie away and started searching in the first of many computer labs in this section. She looked around and tried searching for the pennant, but couldn't find anything. She grunted, leaving the computer lab and moving on to the next one. She searched the second computer lab for a couple minutes before hearing some commotion going on from the hallway. Watching the window on the door, she saw Indigo Zap run past the door along with the other alumni from Crystal Prep towards the library. Rainbow Dash took her walkie talkie back out and alerted the others.

"Guys, Crystal Prep ran past me, towards the library." She stated. "They're gonna find their pennant! We need to hurry and-"

"I found it!" Pinkie Pie screamed.

"Everyone head out!" Applejack called. "We need to beat Crystal Prep out!"

Rainbow Dash watched as Crystal Prep ran back the other way. She couldn't believe her eyes when she saw them carrying their pennant. She ran after them and down the set of stairs that was near her. She saw Rarity on the first floor and told her what she just saw.

"They have their pennant!" She shouted.

"Come on!" Rarity called.

The two girls ran down the hallway and towards the main hall. They saw Applejack, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie all running down the opposite end and smirked. Rainbow Dash knew that this was a victory for them as they joined together in the main hallway and ran for the doors.

As they pushed themselves through, they saw Twilight standing in the middle of the courtyard, waiting for them. She didn't seem too happy, even as she greeted them all.

"Hey, everyone." Twilight said.

"Hey, Twilight," they all replied.

"What's wrong?" Rarity asked.

Twilight looked behind her and over elsewhere. The others followed Twilight's glance and were stunned with what they saw.

It was Crystal Prep's alumni.

"But how?" Rainbow Dash questioned. "I _just_ saw them pass me in the hallway on the second floor!"

"They got here after I did," admitted Twilight, "but I didn't have our pennant."

"It doesn't make any sense," Rainbow Dash continued, "how could they get outside first? What did they do? Jump through one of the windows on the second floor?"

Crystal Prep watched Rainbow Dash complain about how quickly they acted in the round. Truth be told, Crystal Prep knew just exactly where to look, thanks to Rainbow Dash and Canterlot High's walkie talkies. Indigo Zap and Lunar Nights both wore disruptors and microchip transitors that allowed them to listen in on all of Canterlot High's conversations as they searched for their pennant. Once Rainbow Dash told the others via the walkie talkie that she found Crystal Prep's pennant, the Crystal Prep alumni rushed to the library as quickly as they could. They ran straight to the book that housed the pennant, grabbing it and running out of the library. Rainbow Dash saw most of them pass by, but she failed to notice that Shining Armor stood behind briefly. He ran down the nearest set of stairs _behind_ Rainbow Dash and jumped out of a nearby window on the first floor, running to the center of the courtyard and waiting for the other alumni to show up.

Rainbow Dash was livid, considering her hatred to losing. She approached Crystal Prep - namely Indigo Zap - and stopped in front of her, staring her down. She pointed at her and accused her of cheating, even though she didn't have any kind of substantial information that she could use to back her up.

Indigo Zap laughed. "It seems as if someone is a _sore loser._ "

"Don't call me that!" snapped Rainbow Dash. "You cheated and you know it!"

"How could you be so sure of yourself?" Lunar smirked. "You lost because you're simply too slow."

Rainbow Dash blew a gasket and had to be held back by Applejack. She wanted to show Lunar a thing or two, but Applejack wouldn't allow it.

"Now, now, Dash," Applejack sighed, "it ain't worth it."

" _LET ME AT HIM!_ " Rainbow Dash yelled, thrashing and flailing about.

Pinkie Pie watched onward, then saw a small, but noticeable flashing blue light coming from Indigo Zap's hair. She approached Indigo Zap and tried moving her hair to reveal what it was. Indigo Zap quickly covered herself and the light as she spun and moved away from Pinkie Pie.

"Get away from me, you creep!" Indigo Zap shouted.

Pinkie Pie frowned, then got an idea. She took out her phone and held it near Indigo Zap. She waited for a few moments and then started hearing some noise coming from both her phone and Indigo Zap's ear.

"Interference." Twilight said.

"What are you talking about?" Lunar questioned.

Twilight approached both Pinkie Pie and Indigo Zap and observed as much as she could. She began explaining her accusation.

"There is interference going on here," Twilight stated, "and that only happens when two devices that utilize different unseen signals are close by each other. Pinkie's phone uses cellular service..." She turned to Indigo Zap next before continuing.

"So?"

"So," continued Twilight, "Indigo Zap has something that uses some other signal that is causing the sound and her ear to ache."

She tried moving Indigo Zap's hair to see what was there, but Indigo Zap jolted away, despite having such a pain in her ear. She felt her microchip come loose and was starting to fall from her ear. She tried to catch it as it was falling, but was unable to do so. Instead, she and Twilight watched it fall down and hit the ground. Twilight acted quickly and picked up the microchip.

"Interesting..." Twilight said.

"What's it to you?" Indigo Zap scoffed.

"This is the culprit for our defeat." Twilight concluded.

Principals Celestia and Cinch soon came up to the conjoined group of alumni to declare a winner, but were soon put in their places when Twilight showed them the microchip.

"What's that?" Principal Celestia asked.

"This is a small microchip, Principal Celestia," Twilight explained, "and this is a foreign object that Indigo Zap used during the final round."

"Is that so?" Principal Celestia said, eyeing Principal Cinch.

"It is because of this device that Crystal Prep found their school pennant rapidly and finished the round as quickly as they did." Twilight hypothesized. "They listened in to our conversations and knew just exactly where to go to find their pennant after Rainbow Dash accidentally found it. They let us do their work _for_ them and tried to "scoop up" the victory after we finished our job. As far as how they got outside in a hurry, that is what I'm not too sure of."

"Well then," Principal Cinch scoffed, "if that isn't the most obnoxious remark I've ever heard of. I've heard of being a "sore loser," but this is ridiculous! Crystal Prep is not a school where cheating is accepted!" She knew that Twilight was right, however, and tried to make it seem as if it didn't happen.

"Hmm..." Principal Celestia sighed. "Would everyone please remove all of their belongings from them? We are going to perform a search."

The alumni from both schools took out everything they had, except for Lunar; he didn't remove his microchip or disruptor. Principal Celestia then began walking down the line of students and began performing quick searches on all of them. As she got closer to Lunar, who was next-to-last in line, her phone started to make sounds from interference. Once she got to Lunar, her phone was the loudest it could be and she heard it.

"Is there something that you're hiding?" She asked.

"Not at all." Lunar scoffed.

Principal Celestia did not look amused and took out her phone and positioned it near Lunar. She observed that it made the most sound when it was next to his ear and demanded that he remove whatever it was in his ear.

"A hearing aid?" Lunar lied. "Seriously?"

Twilight defended Principal Celestia. "Hearing aids don't cause cellular interference."

Lunar found his mistake and started worrying. He looked at Principal Cinch and saw that she was slightly shaking her head no, signaling for him to not give in to Principal Celestia's demand. Principal Celestia, on the other hand, was growing rather impatient and requested again that Lunar remove whatever was in his ear. Lunar gulped, then began weighing his options on what he should do at this moment.


	12. Chapter 12

_**Chapter 12**_

* * *

Everyone was eagerly awaiting for what Lunar would do. He tried glancing towards Principal Cinch, but his vision to her was cut off by the alumni from Canterlot High and Principal Celestia surrounding him. He grunted, scoffing at the idea that a "hearing aid" could cause cellular disturbance. At last, Principal Celestia lost patience.

"In part of...recent events," Principal Celestia began, "Crystal Prep Academy has been disqualified from the Pennant Hunt round!"

" _WHAT!?_ " Principal Cinch gasped, as did Crystal Prep alumni.

"As a result," continued Principal Celestia, "Canterlot High is victorious in the Pennant Hunt and, with a final score of two-to-one, Canterlot High wins the alumni edition of the Friendship Games!"

The Canterlot students cheered loudly as Canterlot High was declared the winner of the Friendship Games. The alumni also cheered loudly as well and dedicated the victory to Sunset Shimmer. Principal Cinch, on the other hand, was astounded by the move and called Principal Celestia out on it.

"That is incredibly unfair, Principal Celestia," Principal Cinch shouted, "you cannot disqualify my school because of a right to forbid searches!"

"Then you do it then," Principal Celestia replied, "he went to your school, so you try to understand where the cellular disturbance is coming from."

"Lunar Nights!" Principal Cinch called, annoyance sounding in her voice.

Lunar approached Principal Cinch and looked at her. "Yes?"

"Empty your pockets."

Lunar followed orders and emptied out his pockets; everything but his disruptor. He held out his hands and scoffed. "Told you I wasn't hiding anything."

Twilight smirked. "We didn't say you were."

Lunar gulped. "Uhh..."

After a few more moments of silence, Lunar finally came clean and told everyone what happened.

"What was that?" Principal Celestia asked. "I couldn't hear you."

"Indigo Zap was the only one to carry both foreign devices." He lied.

Indigo Zap was livid. " _WHAT!?_ You had a disruptor in your ear!" Indigo Zap slammed her mouth shut after foolishly revealing to everyone what happened; what really happened.

Principal Celestia laughed. "Well, Lunar? Care to show where this disruptor is?"

Lunar grunted, then pulled out the disruptor from his ear. He dropped it to the ground and began walking away. The disruptor falling was symbolism to Crystal Prep falling to Canterlot High. Principal Celestia bent down and picked up the disruptor, then held it to Principal Cinch.

"This is the reason why your school has been disqualified," she told her, "and this is the reason why you lost these games. The use of foreign objects is against the rules in the games and yet you allowed and encouraged your alumni to cheat."

"That is absurd!" Principal Cinch defended, although she knew that Principal Celestia was right.

"Is it now?" Principal Celestia questioned.

Furiously, Principal Cinch began walking away. She called for her alumni to return to the buses and go home. Principal Celestia, on the other hand, called for her alumni and congratulated them all.

"Thank you," she began, "all of you, for everything you've done today. I know this hasn't been the type of games we were hoping for, but one thing is certain about them."

"We finally beat Crystal Prep!" Rainbow Dash cheered.

"We finally beat Crystal Prep." Principal Celestia repeated.

Everyone then engaged in a group hug after that. There one goal had finally been accomplished, even if it were long overdue.

Crystal Prep Academy had finally been defeated. Canterlot High School now had their first win in the games.

"And we'll continue to build on it," Principal Celestia promised, already looking forward to the next Friendship Games.


End file.
